Aftermath of Fire
by Spaceboy22
Summary: Hawks knew why he hadn't been called to aid in the attack. So why did his wings see fit to carry him towards the harbinger of death? The most powerful flame user he'd ever seen, aside from perhaps Endeavor and Shouto Todoroki? A.K.A. Dabi gets hurt and Hawks has to deal with the aftermath. Updates whenever I have time cause college and my motivation is driven by validation lol
1. Chapter 1

Well, the "League of Villains" fucked it up again.

Not really that surprising, given who Dabi had to work with. And against. Strong as the villains might be, taking down All Might wasn't something they could do without All for One. Maybe if Hawks had been there they might have had a better chance, but obviously none of them trusted his villain act yet. They weren't about to have him show up, betray them, and join All Might against them.

Regardless of exactly what happened it was all a disaster, and Dabi was now hiding among the smoking wreckage. The heroes were trailing off into the distance, and so he quickly made his way away from the scene and into the depths of the city where he could hide. Only problem was, he didn't have anywhere to go. Their usual hangout was destroyed, and per the League's agreement no one knew where each other lived. Not that Dabi would want to go to any of their houses. They were all crazy, which made them good villains, but horrible housemates.

For now, he would stick to the alleyways and dark corners, till he found a fire escape which would lead up to a roof. From there he would be able to figure out where the hell he was and what in the world he was going to do about it.

Climbing up the fire escape was a struggle, since as he raised his arm pain shot up through his side and chest and destroyed his breathing. Gritting his teeth Dabi attempted to ignore it, like he did with all the other constant pain in his body. He didn't have the time to sit around and wait for himself to get better. In the back of his mind he was feeling slightly jealous for the heroes and their "recovery girl".

Sitting on the edge of the roof he looked over the darkening sky, taking a moment to wipe at the few scars on his face that had been ripped in the fight and were bleeding. The cool air stung when it brushed against the cuts, sending a chill over his body. Dabi didn't bother making fire to stave it off though, that would take too much effort for only a small reward.

As he was sitting there he heard the cruch of boots on the roof behind him, yet Dabi didn't bother turning around to see who it was. He could tell by the flutter of feathers and the shifting of wings that it wasn't a threat to him, hopefully.

"You've seen better days, Dabi." The distinctly toned voice of Hawks sounded behind the scared male. Dabi let out a sigh at the words, pulling his legs up closer to himself as a gust of colder wind blew by and made him shiver. His voice was a mix of disappointed, taunting, and even a tad worried, if Dabi wasn't dreaming. As expected, he was probably here to say 'I told you so' and prove to Dabi that he should be in the League. Yet Dabi wasn't one hundred percent sure that Hawks was sold on the villain idea. Although, to be fair, neither was Dabi. He had his reasons, but just being a villain for the sake of being a villain wasn't one.

"I know why the League wouldn't let me help out with this. But.." Hawks stepped forward, moving to sit next to Dabi. "You're injured, you've got nowhere to go, and right now you're a criminal charged with how many murders again?" His tone was shockingly light hearted, bordering teasing. He didn't look the other in the eyes, however, instead electing to stare forward into the city's darkening skyline. Dabi didn't look at him either, turning his face and attempting to hide the injuries that he just sustained. No need to show Hawks how hurt he was at the moment.

"Thanks for the horrible pep talk, chicken wings, if you don't leave me alone it'll be one more than that in case you were wondering. I don't need help from you." He rolled his eyes at the other's teasing tone, letting out a bit of a scoff.

"You're always a pleasure to speak with." Hawks replied dryly, crossing one leg over the other. "I wasn't assuming you needed help. I was just offering it, you can turn me down, yknow. It even works without death threats!" Hawks remarked amusedly, briefly glancing at Dabi but looking away just as quickly. "I've got first aid at home. You can treat your injuries, rest up, eat something, I don't care. If I can't help in battle, I might as well help out afterwards." His voice was considerably softer now, less sarcastic than before.

Dabi was initially quiet as Hawks spoke, sharp blue eyes trailing some random street goer to keep his eyes away from the other. "I said I don't need-" He was about ready to snap at him, and go off about offering things to him like some hero, but fell silent as he could tell it was offered in a softer tone. That broke him out of his thought, and he glanced down at his feet before glancing over at Hawks. Was he trying to earn some sort of trust here? Try and get Dabi to form some kind of opinion about him that would help his in to the League? Selfish. Yet, Dabi was having a hard time picturing Hawks doing that. Sure, he wanted in, but he seemed genuine with his intent to help Dabi.

"I'm fine." Dabi still found himself replying warily though, forcing his body to get up. Even just sitting there that long he could feel his muscles getting stiff and tired. Taking a step towards the fire escape again he felt the large bruise on his side protest and pain shoot up his hip, causing him to stumble and wince. So much for keeping his injuries a secret from Hawks.

"Dabi- you're hurt, alright? I've got an extra bed, you wouldn't even need to interact with me." Hawks stood up, not following Dabi but looking at him in what Dabi could see was concern. "It's my place, or someone's gonna find you. And they probably won't offer you this."

Dabi stopped walking when he heard Hawks stand up. Strange that Hawks was being so concerned now. He knew that Dabi would sooner push him off the roof than a lot of other things. Dabi would sooner fry him to a pile of ashes. So why did it sound like Hawks was worried, and maybe even feeling sympathy, for this villain that was bruised up? Yet it wasn't like Dabi had many options at this point. It was getting colder as the night grew close, and Dabi did not have the energy to wrangle his quirk into submission to create fire for warmth. Being completely honest with himself, Dabi knew that he would soon pass out from exhaustion if he stopped moving. With himself on the street, that meant that any random person walking by could see him, call the heroes, and he would be non the wiser until they woke him up in a cell.

"Fine. Just for tonight." He found himself saying as he turned back around to face Hawks, digging his hands into the pockets of his jacket.


	2. Chapter 2

Hawks couldn't hide a small smile, exhaling softly in relief. Dabi may be a villain, but he wasn't an idiot- he had keen intellect and knew how to judge a situation properly. For that Hawks could admire him, although most of his other behavior could use some improvement. Like the way that he never seemed to smile even though Hawks made many attempts at getting him to. Yet Hawks still found himself worried and even overly concerned for the guy, which was definitely a dangerous thing. Would that come to burn his ass in due time, maybe, but Hawks was willing to risk it.

After giving Dabi the address to his place he lifted his wings to fly over, deciding that them leaving separate was better than going together. For a moment Hawks considered picking up Dabi and carrying him over, yet the amount of attention that would bring made him decide against it.

He arrived at the apartment before Dabi as expected, shuffling around to find his keys and then making his way into the apartment. He knew the other wouldn't be long behind him, but he couldn't help the flicker of worry when he considered that maybe Dabi hadn't been as okay as he was appearing. Shaking his head he closed the door behind him, leaving it unlocked for the villain when he would arrive.

Changing into something more comfortable Hawks sat down on his bed, wings poking out from his simple low cut black tank top. He was pretty relaxed, if not for the awkward way he was bent trying to straighten his feathers. Preening, like a bird, except he hated calling it that.

He went rigid upon hearing Dabi enter – and smelling him. Dabi always smelled of a campfire and sometimes burnt flesh, but Hawks never said anything. He seemed embarrassed to be caught in his 'preening' position, but he straightened up and faced Dabi like nothing happened.

"Glad you could make it. First aid is in the cabinet above the sink in the bathroom, if you need help lemme know." Hawks said as he got up and stretched languidly, walking into the kitchen. It was small but housed an unusually large coffee pot. He poured a little water into it, enough that they could both have a few cups if they so desired. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Dabi carefully shrug off his coat, and then strip his shirt off as well.

There were huge scars and bruises covering Dabi's skin, and they made Hawks wince. Hell of a pain tolerance, probably. Like he'd expected, Dabi didn't ask for help even once, so he didn't pry and just let Dabi patch himself up.

Adding the grounds to the container he went back to his task at hand, peeling his eyes away from the living room as Dabi came back and plopped himself down on the couch. Flipping the switch on the machine he turned to get the mugs that he would use, placing them on the counter next to the machine. Normally, Hawks would have been thrilled at someone laying shirtless in his house, but not when they were injured and scarred up.

"Nasty burn scars. They old?" He asked softly, sitting down with a piping hot cup of coffee. He subtly scooted closer to Dabi's space heater-like warmth, nearing the edge of the couch he sat on. Dabi seemed to snap back to things as Hawks spoke, leading him to think that the villain must have been thinking about something.

"Yeah." As expected, Dabi didn't give him anything to work with, simply giving a one word answer as he stood up to get himself a mug of coffee. But Hawks knew that scars like those didn't come from little incidents, and Dabi was only human. He couldn't expect the other to just spill his whole life story in two seconds.

"They look cool, but you should take better care of them. The edges sometimes bleed." Hawks chose not to pry, sipping from his coffee as he watched Dabi roll his eyes and poor himself a mug of the hot beverage. "You should invest in skin lotion, it might prevent the scars from cracking and bleeding on you like that." He advised, glancing over Dabi's skin.

"Thanks. If you feel so inclined to rub them with lotion than be my guest, I don't have the time." Dabi replied with a scoff, before downing the piping hot mug of coffee and returning to the couch. If not for Dabi's tiredness and soreness and obvious injury, Hawks would have been very appreciative. Dabi wasn't hard on the eyes, despite his scars he obviously had lean muscle and took good physical care of himself.

"Really? Just a few weeks ago, you'd have roasted me on sight and now you're considering that? I feel honored, I might take you up on that. Don't need you dying on the League." Hawks replied amusedly, watching out of the corner of his eye as Dabi stood and made his way towards the bathroom.

"Yeah, whatever. I'm going to shower, so no peeking." The villain's words seemed just on the edge of humorous, which was a bit of a change from his usual demeanor. Had Dabi just joked? Sure, Dabi often made sarcastic comments, but that one trespassed more into... almost flirtatious territory.

"I won't, don't worry." Hawks fired back just as quick as the out of character comment from the other, putting just the right amount of tease in it to not sound too interested. "Just don't use my rosewater shampoo!" It wouldn't be good to have Dabi start thinking that Hawks was into him, that wouldn't lead to anything good.

Hawks went back to straightening and cleaning his wings as Dabi showered, which hardly took more than fifteen minutes. He was significantly cleaner and better-smelling, having fresh bandages around the few spots that were bleeding. The sent of smoke and fire still clung to him, but Hawks figured as much. He also seemed tired as he laid back down onto the couch, so Hawks said nothing as he finished cleaning up his wings. Nothing was said between them, and after about ten minutes Hawks spared a look over at Dabi.

Dabi's features seemed relaxed, his eyes closed gently and less contorted in pain. Smiling softly, Hawks decided he'd sleep out here in the living room as well. He awkwardly faced the back of the couch, wings hanging over the front of it where legs normally would as he fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Surprisingly, Dabi slept throughout the night without stirring much, which was a rare thing for him. Usually he would get woken up by his own dreams, or a League member would besiege him with texts and expect him to be awake.

When he finally groggily opened his eyes and found himself still in Hawks' apartment he groaned, shifting to make comfortable a sudden pain in his side. Flopping his hand around the couch he felt for his jacket, finding the pocket and reaching for his phone. He had to figure out what time it was, because it definitely felt later in the day than when he would usually wake up. The apartment lights were off, but the sun was shining in the window's half open blinds.

Pulling his phone up to his face he turned it on, the screen's numbers blaring 11:30 am at him. Well fuck, so much for getting himself out of there before the day would begin.

Sighing he pushed himself up into a sitting position, digging around the other jacket pocket for a cigarette. Popping it in his lips, he lit the tip with a flicker of blue flame before taking a long drag. The bruise on his side was certainly more sore today, judging by how painful it felt just sitting there, but most of the bleeding from the broken scabs had healed.

"Morning, sleepyhead. There's cereal if you want some, but it's almost lunchtime." Hawks smirked, although it was more of a sideways smile than anything. He was sitting in the kitchen, eating what appeared to be chocolate pebbles in chocolate milk. Figures that Hawks wouldn't be able to cook.

Dabi ran a hand through his messy black hair, not really fixing the bedhead or making it any less out of control as it normally was. He let out a slight groan when he got off the couch, running a hand over his eyes as he came over to sit at the table across from Hawks and his cereal. He didn't look too happy, but then again he never really looked that way anyway.

"Shouldn't have let me sleep so late, now I can't go out or I'll be easily spotted." Of course the heroes would still be looking for him in the aftermath, something Hawks would be aware of. Funny he just didn't turn Dabi over yet.

"You're sure that wasn't my plan? Keep you here longer?" Hawks replied with a raised eyebrow. "Honestly, Dabi, I just wanted you to rest. You're still beat up." He reminded him, stirring his spoon in his bowl as he stared down at it. "I don't have any shifts today, and I figured I'd stay home. What about you? Heading out now?" He phrased it almost rhetorically, though whether or not he automatically assumed Dabi would leave or stay was unclear.

Dabi was a little unsure what Hawks was trying to get across with everything that he was doing, but he was slightly getting the feeling that Hawks was just plain… being nice to him. Obviously, the winged man wasn't rude normally, but he'd never helped Dabi before either. Taking another drag from the cigarette he let it perch in his fingers as the smoke curled out with his breath and he looked over at Hawks. "Don't try to miss me too much if I do."

"Oh, but you leaving would definitely break my heart." Hawks replied with a chuckle, looking up from his cereal to put his warm eyes on the other.

Dabi gave a small smirk with that reply, but it fell from his lips moments after. He leaned forward on the table, face almost inches away from Hawks as those piercing blue eyes narrowed at him. A tiny unmanly "eep" slipped out of Hawks' mouth, a sign that the other's sudden movement startled him.

"Why are you doing this? Allowing me to stay here while you just carry on like nothing has happened. What do you want from this?" It was Dabi's understanding that everyone wanted something from everyone else, even heroes. Yet he couldn't simply accept that Hawks was going to let him stay and leave out of the goodness in his heart.

"Companionship, maybe. Maybe I want to discern the League's plans further. And just maybe, I'm being a genuine human being and letting you rest? You have a bruise on your side big enough it's hurting you to breathe. Honestly..." Hawks shook his head, eating another spoonful of chocolatey cereal.

Dabi rolled his eyes at Hawks' comment, lips settling somewhere between a frown and a smile as he leaned back in the chair and away from Hawks face.

"Fair enough. Don't say I believe you but I'll take it as an excuse." He said with another drag from the cigarette before looking down at the bowl before Hawks. Time for a topic change. Bring the focus off of himself and onto Hawks. "That's your breakfast? Chocolate cereal with chocolate milk. Sad." He got up from the table, extinguishing his cigarette on the back of his hand before throwing it into the trash and rooting through Hawks' fridge.

Hawks scoffed. "I'll have you know, chocolate cereal with chocolate milk is the breakfast of champions!" He proclaimed, wings puffing up indignantly. Typical Hawks, attached to something as simple as breakfast food choices. Dabi continued rooting through the fridge, finding a carton of eggs in the back and deciding that would be enough for the time being. He fell into silence as he started to cook them, basically making himself at home in Hawks kitchen.  
"Y'know, some people say I'm weird for liking chicken but it's my favorite." Hawks suddenly informed Dabi, probably just trying to make conversation to fill the silence. He seemed like the kind of guy that was never quiet, but that didn't really bother Dabi that much. The more he talked, the less Dabi had to. "A girl I'd brought over once even left because I'd made breakfast burritos with eggs and chicken in them. Whether that was her disgust with me, or maybe she was a vegan, I dunno."

As Hawks monologued Dabi continued to cook his breakfast, toasting some bread in his hand with a flicker of flame before looking down at how much he had made. Well, that was too much for himself alone to eat. He had a feeling it was those big brother instincts that never seemed to go away. Unfortunate.

He had two options here. Give Hawks what was left, or just eat it all. With a sigh he turned from the stove, taking his plate to the table and sitting down. "Well, if you want chicken on it you're on your own, but those eggs are going to get cold if you leave them there." He said in the most nonchalant tone he could manage, before taking a bite of his own food.

He could feel Hawks starring at him after he offered the food, but Dabi kept his eyes down. He only glanced up as Hawks took the plate and sat across from him, catching just a hint of pink on his cheeks. "Thanks, Dabi."

Fuck, Hawks was starting to get the wrong idea about him. Dabi had definitely not made the food to be nice to Hawks. It was just an accident. "Don't mention it." He replied back with a slight shrug, going back to eating his toast and dipping it in the runny yoke. The two of them sat in silence again for a few seconds, before Hawks inevitably spoke, giving Dabi a thumbs up and grinning.

"It's really good, did you used to cook for a living or something?" That question caused Dabi to look up, internally weighing how much he wanted Hawks to get as a response. If he gave too much info away, he was sure that Hawks would get even more curious and start thinking. But not enough, and Hawks would keep talking.

"Nah, nothing like that. Just used to cook for my siblings." He said as he went back to eating, hoping that would satisfy Hawks. With a glance he looked up to see the other's response, and the glimmer in Hawks' eyes made his stomach sink. So much for curbing Hawks' curiosity.


	4. Chapter 4

Hawks nodded, although his curiosity was peeked. Typical Dabi, shrugging off any and all human emotions. But, he had given Hawks something to go off of. He thought back to Endeavor, and then that 1-A student... But, if Dabi was who Hawks was suspicious of, why would he abandon Endeavor?

"Siblings, hmm? I was an only child, but how were they?" He asked as he took another bite, slowly savoring the food. When was the last time he had a good breakfast cooked for him? Too long.

"They're fine." Dabi responded with a quick snap, getting up from the table to rinse his plate. The tone caught Hawks a little off guard, but he was silent as Dabi made it clear that the conversation was over. Obviously he didn't want to talk about it, which made Hawks have even more questions. Mostly about his quirk and its relation to Endeavor's but…

Seeing that hurt man practically hobble over to his couch and attempt hiding the pain in his side, Hawks pushed those thoughts away. Whether he knew Dabi's backstory or not made no difference, especially when Hawks was nothing more than a work accomplice to Dabi.

Nothing more.

"I was thinking we could watch some kind of action movie." Hawks said as he took care of his own plate and followed Dabi into the living room, trying to make the mood light again since Dabi had crushed it. "America makes decent superhero movies out of some of their better heroes, if you wanna watch one. They're all subtitled, just FYI if your English is rusty." Hawks said with a sideways grin, pulling out a few DVDs and offering them to Dabi to choose.

Thankfully it seemed that Dabi was starting to humor Hawks' requests more, for he made himself comfortable on the couch and pointed to one: "Captain America: The Winter Soldier." Was he being ironic with the title choice and the fact that he was a fire user? Maybe.

"My English is fine, thank you. But you can leave them on anyway." Oh, there was a bite of sass in Dabi's tone there, which made Hawks smirk as he took the DVD and placed it into the player. He would get something out of Dabi whether the man liked it or not.

Hawks went to sit down on the couch, except, rather than sitting on his own, he sat next to Dabi. If asked, he'd probably just reply with the easy out of Dabi being a furnace – and that was part of it – but honestly he did want to sit by Dabi. These feelings.. very reminiscent of a crush. Hawks was no stranger to crushes, remembering back to when he crushed over Miruko, but it was none the less strange and awkward to like a villain. Dabi was nice, even if it was generally overshadowed by his brutality in fights and tendency to get beat up.

He raised one single wing and let it lay across Dabi's shoulders and back, almost sighing pathetically as warmth soaked into his wing. He felt Dabi tense under him, and briefly considered that he might have made a mistake, but that was until he felt Dabi lean back into his feathers.

"It's just because it feels nice, don't get too excited." Dabi spoke, which drew Hawks away from basking in the warmth against his feathers. The other's head was turned away from him, but Hawks could just catch a hint of color on his cheeks. As expected, Dabi would be embarrassed about making such close contact.

"I know, Dabi- trust me, I'm not complaining. Know that feeling when you stick your cold body into a warm shower? Er… maybe you don't, but it's nice." Hawks chuckled. Neither of them was even watching the movie at this point. Did Hawks dare say they were cuddling? The warmth in his wing, and the obvious relaxation the poor beat up guy felt… well, if the shoe fit.

Hawks just sat there, basking in the silence and the tender moment even when Dabi didn't reply. He had so much more to say, but at this point it'd be nothing but pointless rambling. He'd rather enjoy the quiet, the peace. How he could do that with a known criminal being his cuddle buddy, he didn't know.

The blond glanced over at Dabi, confused for a moment as he felt the other's head slowly fall onto his shoulder. Hawks made no effort to hide a smile, rolling his eyes. Without the usual sneer, scowl, or disapproval look Dabi wore, he was... well, pretty soft. Hawks scooted slightly closer, letting his wing wrap all the way around like a blanket and almost cover Dabi completely if not for the fact his wing had a little thing in the way called joints and bones.

It was only noon, but Hawks wasn't really surprised Dabi was already asleep. His body needed rest to recuperate. It was bittersweet, the better Dabi healed the better Hawks would feel but the sooner Dabi would want to leave. He'd made that very clear.

Hawks sighed. "Guess it's just you and me now, Captain America."

He didn't fully fall asleep watching the movie, only dozing off occasionally until Dabi suddenly woke up and shoved himself away from the winged hero. Hawks grumbled in unappreciation as his wing was suddenly and bitterly cold again and snapped the limb back against his body in a vain attempt to keep it warm.

"What's your deal?" He raised an eyebrow, watching Dabi attempt to stretch out his limbs yet not hurt his wounds. "You didn't have to jerk away, y'know. Sleep good?" Hawks inquired, shifting slightly so his wings were tucked against his back. He already missed Dabi's warmth, but saying so would not only earn him warmth, it'd also earn him a one way ticket to being a pile of ash and dust.

"Wonderful, your shoulder is like a rock." Dabi drawled sarcastically, it clear that he was again trying to cover up his discomfort as he stood up. "You should raise the heart in here if you're so cold, it's not my job to be your personal space heater."

Hawks looked away, pouting slightly. "Fine, fine, I get it. If you're so uncomfortable, get your own pillow then." He shot back, rolling his eyes in amusement before stretching. Dabi still didn't look good, bruised to hell and his breathing ragged. "Mmm, you probably bruised a couple ribs too, now that I think about it. Those take about a month and a half to heal, you know that right?" Hawks said this without making eye contact. "I know you kinda don't like me all that much right now, and you're in pain, and you'd much rather be anywhere else, but if you need to stay somewhere safe for real for a month or so, you can be here. I can give you space." He offered, motioning towards his couches. He could tell that Dabi was obviously not happy with the idea, but there was no way that Hawks wasn't going to at least suggest it to him.

"Sure, as long as you don't plan on stabbing me in the back with one of those things." Dabi accepted with some reluctance, making a jab at the wings that he had been laying against moments earlier. Hawks only shrugged at that, letting a feather fall into his hand and sharpen as he glanced over at Dabi.

"Fine, as long as you don't plan on stabbing me in the back either." He replied in kind, playing by Dabi's mood for the moment. With a simple drop of his hand, the feather curled in on itself and softened, and the hero dropped it into the trash. Apparently that didn't threaten Dabi any, for while Hawks was talking he saw the villain searching for his phone again. He looked at it with a frown, typing out a fast reply before grumbling.

"The League's getting together, wondering where the hell I am. I gotta go."

Hawks blanched, face paling. "Wha- no, Dabi, you're still hurt! Just tell them you got hurt really bad in the fight, you can't go out there now!" The blond seemed slightly panicked, brow furrowed worriedly. Seeing no change in Dabi's expression, he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fine, go, but call me if something happens and I'll be there. Just- don't get yourself killed, alright? I need someone to make me eggs and toast more often." There, normal Hawks was back. For a moment, he almost seemed sappy.

"Aw, is the big number two hero Hawks worried about my wellbeing? Shocker." Dabi smirked at his concern, which brought a frown to Hawks' lips. Clearly Dabi did not take this as seriously as Hawks knew it was. He could only watch as the villain carefully shrugged his jacket on, before heading for the door. "I'm not gonna die from a bruise, alright. I'll be back soon."


	5. Chapter 5

Dabi closed the door to the apartment, pulling his jacket tighter around the middle to cover the purple and yellow bruising along his ribs and side. It was enough to have all these scars out in the open, he didn't need yet another thing for people to gawk at.

It was about three in the afternoon now, and most of the main streets were bustling with people. Luckily, the place that Toga had texted him to meet at wasn't that far away, so he wouldn't have to be walking around for long.

That was also a good thing because every step hurt like hell. Every breath in was blessed with a sharp stab of pain as his bruised ribs were forced to move. Should he have listened to Hawks and not stepped outside the apartment? Probably. But it was too late for that now. Dabi would never live it down if he turned back.

Instead of focusing on that too much he turned his attention back to the text from Toga. It seemed a little weird, like not a hundred percent in character. The knife emojis were there, and the little squiggle at the end, but something about it just seemed off.

Yet he brushed aside the feeling, chalking it up to the fact that she was probably just as hurt right now as he was. Come to think of it, he didn't remember what happened to any of the other League members after the fight.

At least the look of the place fit their usual spots, which calmed Dabi's suspicions slightly. Still, he found his finger hovering over Hawks' number, just in case. Not that he trusted the hero, mind you, but any help was better than no help.

With a small groan of effort Dabi pushed open the door, lifting his eyes up to meet the members of the League. Only, the League of Villains wasn't who was inside.

Heroes were.

Immediately alarms blared in Dabi's head, and a split second after he turned to run. Yet he was shoved harshly from behind before he could do so, pain shooting through his body and causing him to gasp as he lost his footing. He couldn't even pull his hands up to block his face from smacking into the concrete it happened so fast.

There was a cracking sound with the impact, and hot pain flared up in the middle of Dabi's face. His nose had probably been broken, and he could already feel a trickle of blood leaking out. Whoever had shoved him, it was with the intent to cause him more suffering and not just keep him away from the door.

Shakily he pushed himself up from the ground, internally cursing as his arms felt like they had the strength of limp noodles.

Sufficient to say, this was not good.

He didn't know what happened to his phone but it wasn't in his hand anymore, probably knocked away when he was shoved.

He managed to glance behind himself, seeing that none other than the number one hero Endeavour had been the one to kiss his face to the pavement. Probably why that hurt so much. His large frame and flames were blocking the only way out that Dabi could even possibly get to, but even that was impossible with the condition that he was in.

He didn't give Enji the privilege of seeing shock or fear on his face, instead setting his face and turning to the heroes in front of him.

"All this for me?" Dabi managed a smirk, even as he was struggling to breath evenly. "Seems like a bit of overkill. Or are you worried that you'll need all of you to take me down? That's pathetic." Really, there was a large amount of heroes here if they were just planning on capturing him. Unless they weren't here to just capture him.

"Not quite, Dabi. We ran into a couple of your friends before you decided to show up." Eraser Head spoke, causing Dabi to narrow his eyes. Of course they would have him come, without his fire Dabi wouldn't be able to defend against so many of them. Not that he could even use it now in the first place, he'd end up burning himself without the energy to control it. That is, if he was even able to make any.

Eraser then held something up, and Dabi immediately knew what it was. Judging by the pink case and little charm dangling, the heroes had gotten a hold of Toga's phone. That's how they knew that he would be here. They sent that text and lured him to them.

He didn't really have anything to say to that, gritting his teeth silently. He could taste warm iron on his lips, wiping at the blood that was trailing from his nose with the back of his hand.

"Now, you're going to surrender willingly, or we're going to use force." Yeah, that wasn't happening. He just had to grab his phone and get past Endeavor, and hope to all gods that Hawks would actually come to his rescue.

Dabi sucked in a breath, stealing himself from the inevitable pain that would come with moving. "As if I would-"

But he never got to finish his sentence or act out his escape plan, because the voice of Endeavor behind him said something he never thought he would hear again. It caused a pit to grow in Dabi's stomach, and his mind to momentarily freeze up as he wasn't sure how to react.

"Cut the attitude, Touya."


	6. Chapter 6

Hawks just frowned as Dabi left, knowing that nothing good would probably come from his leaving but not really having the conviction to hold him in the apartment against his will. There was no universe where Dabi would take that as a good sign, and Hawks would very quickly find out personally what fried chicken feels like. And he didn't really want to experience that.

Sure, he was worried about the guy, but who wouldn't be after seeing how beat up he was. That's all it was, he was just concerned for Dabi out of human decency. Yes.

Hawks didn't expect him to call either, since Dabi made it very clear that he did not want help and so far hadn't asked for it. Not that it wouldn't be fun to swoop in and save the villain like a damsel-in-distress, but he had a feeling that it would only serve to piss Dabi off.

Well, since Dabi would predictably gone for a while, Hawks figured now was as good a time as any to contact the Commission. He was going to put it off for the day, but with what happened he figured they would like to know that the villain he was supposed to be getting info from was staying at his house. That might get them off his ass for a bit, since they seemed so needy for new information and progress. Didn't seem to understand that things like this took time. And on top of that, Dabi was a difficult person to work with.

Kicking his feet up onto the coffee table he leaned back on the couch, the apartment seeming chillier now that his personal heater was gone. The number was on speed dial, and only rang twice before the other end was picked up. "Give us some good news, Hawks. The other heroes have managed to catch a villain, but your assigned target's been MIA."

"First off, he's my in, not a target." Hawks casually corrected, but in the back of his mind it brought up a bit of doubt. When he had first agreed to do this it was just to get into the League to learn about League business, but as the weeks went on it seemed more and more like the Commission was focusing on Dabi himself. "Hey, but, you'll like this. I got the guy to stay at my house after that attack, and I think he's starting to trust me."

He could practically see the frown on the other's face through the phone as there was a long pause of silence, like they were listening to something else. For a moment he pouted that his headway with Dabi didn't get a reaction, but had a feeling that whatever this was that he should know it too. He strained his ear to try and hear, but the other line the Commission must have been on was too quiet.

"A new development has come up, Hawks. We'll get back to you with further instruction."

Hawks was about to say something back, protesting the fact that he had called them and they were practically ignoring him, but the line went dead before he could.

Well, Hawks' good mood was gone now, sighing as he hung up the phone. Sliding it into his pocket he glanced into the kitchen, standing up to stretch his wings. He wasn't really in the mood for scavenging around his house, so he decided to go out and get something to eat.

Jacket and shoes came on, Hawks grabbing his keys and heading out the door. He was about to lock his apartment, but decided against it as Dabi might still try to come back. He checked his phone again as well, making sure the ringer was on in case Dabi tried to call or text. His radio silence wasn't a totally new sensation for Hawks, the villain would do that occasionally. It was just a little more concerning because Hawks knew that he was injured.

There was a fast food place only a couple blocks down, so Hawks elected to walk, pulling out his phone again and scrolling through his feed to see if there was anything that could possibly be what the Commission was talking about. Mostly stuff about the attack that had happened last night, so nothing new there and he put it away.

He was in line when a new notification buzzed his phone, quickly pulling it out to see if it was Dabi. In the back of his mind he knew that the villain was starting to have Hawks wrapped around his every move, but now was not the time to think about that. The title blared up at him, eyes glued to it and not realizing that it was his turn to go. A nudge and a cleared throat from the next person in line snapped him back to it, and he looked up to give a quick apology before almost running out of the restaurant.

The Headline?

"Villain Dabi Captured by Pro Hero Endeavor!"


	7. Chapter 7

Touya.

Touya Todoroki.

Dabi hadn't gone by that name for a long time. He thought that maybe in time everyone would just forget that the Todoroki's even had an older brother. Never in a million years did he think that Enji himself would be the one to bring it back up.

Judging by the faces of the other heroes, they didn't expect him to say that either. So then why did he? It wasn't like Dabi couldn't just deny that was his name and use the shock to his advantage and get away. That was what he should have been doing. He should be moving to deny it and run away.

So why wasn't he?

Why did he turn around to face Endeavor? Why was he still standing there when he should have been running away?

Maybe, in some twisted part of his mind, he didn't want to. Enji had probably used his name in the hopes that it would break Dabi, cause him to slip up, put his head down and try to run. To prove that he was still a weak failure that went by the name of Touya. Dabi wasn't going to take that as an option.

Besides, what better option was there than to stare Endeavor in the face and prove him wrong? If Dabi was going down, then he was going to take Endeavor and everything anyone believed about heroes along with him.

"Why? What are you gonna do? Beat me?"

As soon as those words left Dabi's mouth it seemed like the whole room froze, not expecting that sort of lip from the villain that looked about ready to pass out on his feet. But Dabi was nowhere near done with what he was going to do to Endeavor. There was a rush of adrenaline that came from just saying it, and clearly it established that Dabi was not going to take this lying down.

The question was loaded, either way that Endeavor answered would not be to his liking. He'd have to admit that he was going to beat his adult son into submission in front of all these other heroes, or he'd have to say no and back down. And Dabi had a pretty good idea of which one he would choose.

Oh, the fury in Endeavor's eyes was burning, but Dabi just smirked, holding his hands up and palms open to the air. "Well then, let's not waste any time. Don't want to get my nosebleed on everything." He seemed.. totally calm as opposed to how this situation had started, even though literally everything was going wrong for Dabi at this point.

He did have a few ideas, however.

It didn't take long for hands to be grabbing his wrists, pulling his hands back into quirk suppressant cuffs. He was then carted off under heavy guard to the prison, where he was finally patched up and his old wounds rewrapped. Clearly being captured by the heroes wasn't as bad as being captured by villains, which Dabi was feeling pretty grateful for at the moment.

He was actually given a sliver of peace before he was taken from that cell and into the next, which was clearly going to be used for interrogation purposes. White walls, white chair, white table, the only thing of color inside was Dabi and he was like a soot smear on its perfection. The cuffs were rather uncomfortable, holding his wrists together and rubbing against the scars over his arms. He knew that eventually they would start to bleed, but for now they were just a nuisance.

There was a large window on the one side of the room, which Dabi suspected was a one way mirror and most likely the heroes were watching everything that he did and said. Fun. Had he really been thinking this all the way through when he gave himself up? Not really. He was only focusing on the look on Endeavor's face, and the fact that Dabi knew he was untouchable now. Now that he was under the heroes watch, so would anyone's interactions with him be. Endeavor couldn't touch him, but Dabi could tear down his entire world. In a matter of a few words, and a confirmation from at least one other family member, and Enji Todoroki would no longer be the number one hero. Or any hero. Would it satisfy Dabi as much as his death at his hands, no, but it was a start.

In the back of his mind Dabi remembered Hawks, wondering what even happened to the bird man. Did he know it was a trap? Did he help them set it up? Was Dabi right all along about how Hawks wasn't actually a villain? He'd have no way of knowing unless Hawks showed up himself. Not that Dabi would admit it, but he would actually be disappointed if Hawks had stabbed him in the back like that. He had seemed so genuine the other day, but Dabi was pretty sure he still didn't care about Hawks or what he would do. Now? He hated to say it but he missed the guy.

Whatever other thoughts he was going to have about the hero were pushed from his mind as the door was opened, and the man himself was here. The person that Dabi was just trying to forget about, but never could seem to.

Hawks.


	8. Chapter 8

Hawks knew that he should have just kept Dabi in his house. None of this would have happened. Now how was he supposed to get into the League? They wouldn't trust him anymore, probably think that he had something to do with Toga and Dabi's capture. He didn't, which actually pissed him off. None of the other heroes thought it would be important to tell him this? Or maybe they purposely withheld the information from him. Did they not trust him too?

He went straight to the prison, not even needing to say anything to explain why he was here. Obviously the guards knew he was there for the villains that had been captured, waving him through every security door without even doing the full checks. He was the number two hero still, so they knew he wouldn't do anything.

"Okay, what the hell is up with this?" Hawks made his presence know as he came up to the group of heroes standing by the cell, his irritation obvious in his voice. "No one felt the need to tell me that you were all gonna spring a trap on the League?"

He didn't know what kind of answer he was expecting, but blank stares and silence wasn't it.

"What?" Hawks was nervous now, wings twitching slightly. "Why are you all looking at me like that?" The only reason he could think that they wouldn't tell him was if they'd known that he was with Dabi, but no one knew of that. Right?

"We haven't had a chance to get Dabi's phone open to confirm, but the last text he sent to Toga stated that he was with you."

Shit.

Well, at least they hadn't seen anything in Dabi's phone yet. And from the sound of it they didn't look through Toga's other conversations with Dabi, or they would know that he was probably talking to her about how Hawks was trying to get into the League. That would really stir things up.

"Okay, okay, I know that looks bad but I swear it's not what it looks like." Hawks said with a quick run of his fingers through his hair, and a little smile in an attempt to lighten the mood. "I've been working with the Hero Commission to go undercover and infiltrate the League through Dabi. C'mon guys, you know me. I'd never go villain." That was the truth, so why did he feel like he had to defend himself. They had to believe that though. They could prove that by talking to the Commission. And even if they did see the texts that Dabi and Toga or even Hawks exchanged, they could see it through the eyes of him just faking it to get into the League.

The one hesitation Hawks felt was with his relationship to Dabi. It was nothing more than work partners, of course, but the line between what Hawks was faking and what was his actual feelings was starting to blur. And that's what worried Hawks.

"Look, can I just talk to him? You guys can see for yourself whether you think we're conspiring, but I'm telling you that if you call the Commission they will explain everything." He glanced from Aizawa to the other heroes, and most notably to Endeavor. The guy had to trust him, right? He and Hawks had fought against Dabi in the Nomu attack together, and Hawks genuinely was sorry for what happened to his face.

Something passed over Endeavor's face, but Hawks couldn't exactly tell what it was. There seemed to be some unknown tension in the room aside from Hawks' appearance, and for a second Hawks was reminded of his suspicions regarding the Todorokis. Had something come up about that before Hawks showed up? He'd have to find out later.

Thankfully it seemed like Endeavor trusted him, giving a nod. "Fifteen minutes. Then we're going to talk." Hawks broke into a smile with that, letting out a breath he didn't realize that he was holding. He wasn't sure if Endeavor meant that they were going to talk or Endeavor was going to talk with Dabi, but that didn't matter at the moment.

"Thanks, man, you're the best." He said it with a smile, but that faltered when Endeavor looked away from him. Something was definitely up. Push that aside for now, focus on Dabi. Focus on not fucking everything up.

Hawks was buzzed into the room, the door sliding closed behind him and the sound of the mechanism locking echoed in the silence.

"So much for being back soon, hey?" Hawks tested the waters, hoping to get some reaction out of Dabi. From what he could tell, Dabi wasn't happy with the situation. But at least he was properly patched up. Although the bandage across the bridge of his nose was new.

Dabi just scoffed, glaring at Hawks sharply. "Like you didn't know."

Ouch, for being a fire quirk user that was incredibly cold, and Hawks was unhappy with the way that made his chest feel heavy. He felt the smile slip from his lips, glancing away from Dabi. He had to be careful what he said here, with both sides present. Was there even a way for him to make the heroes and Dabi trust him at the same time?

And why did he care about what Dabi thought about him? He was already captured, as well as at least one more member of the League, and the heroes could easily get information about the League from both of their phones. So Hawk's mission was as good as done. He didn't need to remain in Dabi's good graces any longer. So why did he want to? Because he felt guilty about betraying him? No, he felt guilty about feeling like he was betraying Endeavor. Was it because he remembered how… normal Dabi was in his apartment last night? How Dabi was just like anyone else and made eggs for breakfast with toast?

Was it... because he wanted Dabi to like him?

Nope, nope, can't think about that right now. Focus.

"In my defense, I didn't know that was happening. Endeavor didn't tell me." That was true, but seemed to be the wrong thing to say as Dabi leaned forward and continued to glare at him.

"As if he hasn't been keeping a lot of other shit from you?" Dabi's remark seemed to come out of nowhere in relation to what they were talking about, yet it caused a thousand other thoughts to come up into his mind. He didn't even know what train of thought to follow, or what Dabi was trying to get him to say, but from the look in his eyes the other definitely was planning something.

He opened his mouth to reply, but apparently Dabi wasn't done. "He's been keeping a lot of secrets from you heroes, right in front of your very own faces, and yet you've never seen this whole time." Oh, Hawks had a feeling that Dabi wasn't even just talking to him anymore. This was directed at the man on the other side of the glass.

"He's not the perfect hero you all think he is. You don't know what he does when he leaves the precious walls of your hero establishments. You don't know what he does with his own family." Dabi was getting closer to Hawks, but his eyes kept flickering over to the window. As if he was daring Endeavor to stop him before he outed him to the whole hero world. "Why do you think Shouto doesn't want to-"

And then Dabi stopped, as if he got what he wanted. Hawks followed the other's eyes, seeing that the little flashing red light next to the room's mic was turned off. Dabi was taunting the man into turning it off so that Dabi and Hawks could talk without being heard for a few precious seconds. But Hawks had been given some valuable information, even though it just made more questions.

"Look, I don't know if you even care, you probably don't, seeing as I have no reason to believe that you didn't help them capture me." Dabi was back to talking to Hawks now, and Hawks hated how much he hung on the other's words. "But if you do, if you really meant it when you said that you wanted to be a decent human being and help me, then do it. Get me the hell out of here."

Hawks froze, the only thing he could do was look back at Dabi's sharp blue eyes and try to breath.

"And if you don't care, if you want to save your precious hero reputation, leave, and don't come back."

Outside the room was filled with as much tension, but for a different reason.

"Endeavor." Aizawa broke the silence, the heroes' attention now turned to the man who had his hand slammed over the mic button.

"Enji, turn the mic back on."


	9. Chapter 9

Did Dabi feel bad for presenting such high stakes to Hawks? No, not really.

He felt betrayed yet again, by multiple people, Hawks included. Why that bothered him so much he didn't know, being let down was something he should have been fine with. He'd experienced plenty of it before, so why did he give Hawks a chance this time?

Probably just because he wanted to get out of here. Yes, he wanted to take down Endeavor, expose him for all the shit he put Touya and now Shouto through, but he didn't really want to be the one to do it. He'd locked all of that down for a reason. Now it didn't seem like he had a choice, it was all getting dug up out of his control and he'd rather have it go his way than Endeavor burying it all again.

He didn't expect Hawks to say anything to his offer, really. He'd rather the hero just leave and never come back if he was going to say no. Dabi felt a sinking feeling in his chest grow as Hawks just turned from the room and left, leaving Dabi to assume that's the option he chose.

Well then, taking down Endeavor it was.

Ignoring the weird feeling in his chest about Hawks Dabi let out a sigh, leaning back in his chair. He couldn't see what was going on outside the room, but he hoped it wasn't good. Endeavor would most likely be under suspicion now that he turned off the mic, and a few seconds after Hawks left the room the light went back on, which proved that he removed his hand.

Dabi wasn't sure what was going to happen next, tension gripping his body in quiet anticipation. He really did not want to deal with Endeavor or any other hero at the moment, his side was still uncomfortably sore and restricting his breathing, and his face hurt on top of that. He just wanted to sleep, which unfortunately wasn't an option. But Dabi was accustomed to running on empty, and now was no different.

The door was opened again, and Dabi could hear sounds of protest which included Hawks' voice but he didn't catch what he was saying because of who stepped into the room.

Endeavor, aka Enji Todoroki. Aka Dabi's – no, Touya's - father.

Dabi was on his feet in seconds, not wanting to appear in a vulnerable sitting state. He glanced over at the door, fear rising at it locked behind the man. Yes, in such conditions Dabi felt fear facing his father. He knew he was untouchable with the other heroes there, but physical contact wasn't his only worry.

As if he would show it though.

"You know full well the kind of shit you put me through. I don't have anything to say to you." There. He did it. Acknowledged that he was Endeavor's son. If anyone was still doubting, that put it to rest. In the back of his mind he wondered if Hawks was still out there listening, but he knew it didn't matter anymore.

Right now it was just him and Enji. And Enji was going down.

"Who's going to believe you?" Dabi hardly visibly flinched, but still cursed himself out for still not being strong enough to remain still under Enji's words. He thought he was over it, years past ever interacting with the man in such a way, but put them in a room together like this and it was like all those years never happened. Like the accident was just yesterday. "You're just a villain. It's your word against mine. For all they know, you're making this up. Coming up with some elaborate story about how I ruined your childhood."

Enji was coming on strong, obviously. Dabi's silence was the only thing that would guarantee his reputation stayed intact, or if Dabi caved and said that he was lying. Even then, it would cause doubt in the other heroes' minds.

So Dabi was going to talk.

It was going to hurt like a bitch, ripping open his own scars and exposing himself completely to whoever was out there. He was probably going to get emotional, and Endeavor would yell at him, but Dabi would yell back. He didn't have another choice anymore.

"You think they're going to believe I'm lying about this shit? You were the one that muted when I started talking, not me. That's proof enough. You've got some fucked up shit to hide, and you showed that yourself." Now more than ever Dabi was thankful for the table between them, because if it wasn't there he was sure that Enji would have gotten closer to him in an attempt to intimidate him into backing down. Not that he wasn't intimidating already, but Dabi pushed through that. The fire in his eyes only spurred Dabi on, continuing before his father could get a word in edgewise.

"What? Nothing to say to that, Mr. Number One Hero? Do you not like being wrong? Does it remind you of something else? Like how wrong you were in forcing me into quirk training at the age of five? I was a fucking child! Separating me from the family, pushing me to use my quirk even though I would vomit and then making me fight you until every ungodly hour in the morning until I would pass out! Then rinse and repeat for a goddamn fifteen years!" Fuck, Dabi was shaking now. There was a lump rising in his throat, and he had to clench his teeth so that he wouldn't cry. Not now.

The skin around the cuffs was getting hot, the telltale sign that Dabi's quirk wanted to act up and flare out of his control. That was one thing that Endeavor was never able to curve.

"And then you had the audacity to call me the failure?! Like I was the problem for not being able to hold up to your abuse?! And the minute I tried to stand up to your fucking bullshit you attempt to kill-" Dabi was barely aware of the table being shoved out of the way, focusing on just getting the words out until he felt a hand on his throat and a force shove him against the wall hard enough to take the wind out of his lungs.

Enji's fire was burning, his hand searing hot against Dabi's neck scars. Dabi couldn't even really feel the pain anymore, just trying to gasp in a breath as the impact had irritated his bruise on top of all of that.

"Todoroki, stop."

The door was opened again, Aizawa using his quirk to stop Endeavor's flames. Vaguely Dabi could tell that he was forcibly escorted out of the room by the other heroes, to go where he honestly didn't care.

Dabi's legs gave out seconds later, sinking down to the floor and wheezing as he tried to breath. Barely he heard Hawks call his name, but it faded out as Dabi's vision blurred and seconds later he was passed out on the cold floor.


	10. Chapter 10

Well fuck, what was Hawks going to do now?

Dabi had just asked him to break him out of prison. Not only that, but he posed it in such a way that Hawks was going to seem like a straight up horrible asshole if he didn't.

Obviously, as the number two hero Hawks' answer should immediately be no. Doing the right thing even though it hurt was supposed to be the mantra of heroes. That's why Hawks took on the Commissions mission in the first place. He knew that it would eventually come down to something like this. And the answer was supposed to be easy.

The point of him trying to get into the League was to discern their secrets, gain evidence, and eventually bring them down and capture them. Sure, it hadn't entirely gone like that now, but with Dabi in prison as well as Toga, they would be able to get invaluable information about the League. His job was a success, in a way.

So why did he feel like a piece of shit?

Why did he find himself at a loss for words and questioning everything?

He had to get some air. Some distance from everything. He couldn't make a clear decision here. Dabi's presence was suddenly suffocating, and Hawks turned like a chicken and ran.

However, stepping outside the room didn't lead to any less chaos, for Endeavor was steaming and almost plowed Hawks over to get to the door and inside. Hawks gave a halfhearted excuse of protest, but figured it was a good idea not to get in his way at the moment.

He was about half way to the door before he heard Dabi speak, freezing in his tracks and turning back towards the viewing window.

Dabi was a Todoroki.

In the back of his mind, Hawks wanted to congratulate himself on guessing the truth, but it didn't feel right. This wasn't a happy reunion of father and son.

He hardly took in a breath as Dabi started spilling out the… absolutely monstrous things that Endeavor had done to him. Had Endeavor been doing that when Hawks first met him? Was Hawks completely blind? And most importantly, was Endeavor still doing it?

He didn't have to wait long for that answer, seeing the man that he admired shove Dabi against the wall and choke him with a flamed fist so that he would stop talking.

Thankfully Hawks wasn't the only one seeing this, and even though he was the fastest hero Hawks found himself behind the others as they tore into the room to stop Endeavor.

Hawks couldn't look at him as they took Endeavor away, focusing on literally anything else instead. "Dabi!" Fuck, he felt his heart wrench for the guy. By the time Hawks was on the ground next to him Dabi was out, but besides the new burns on his neck and bleeding of his wrists he seemed relatively okay.

Hawks was ever so gentle picking Dabi up from the ground, cracking just a sliver of a smile as he imagined how pissed and embarrassed the guy would be to learn that Hawks was princess style carrying him. He noticed that his chest was warmer after thinking about that, but he shoved it down. Now was not the time to be thinking about that.

He stayed with Dabi as he was getting patched up in the hospital room, alone while the others took care of Endeavor for the time being and were trying to decide what to do with him. Hawks was too biased to be able to give a solid opinion either way, and he knew this. On top of his former respect for Endeavor, Hawks was compromised.

He'd formed some kind of positive relationship with Dabi, and it was going to be his downfall.

Hawks let out a long sigh, running his hands through his hair as he sat hunched over on a chair in the room with Dabi.

Eventually he looked up at the villain on the bed, who was rebandaged and wearing the standard prison bottoms. His old clothes were deemed too dirty and worn, now in the trash can in the corner.

Hawks ran his eyes over Dabi's exposed skin, biting his lip as he realized just how much of it was heavily scarred and barely holding together.

How much of that was because of Endeavor?

How much of that happened right under the heroes watch, failing to save the very son of the number two hero?

How bad was it that Touya ended up like this, masquerading around as the villain Dabi and hunting heroes with the League?

How much of that could Hawks have stopped if he knew? Granted, Hawks knew that Dabi was a year or two older than him and if he couldn't stand up to Endeavor then how would a fifteen year-old Hawks, but that wasn't the point. Hawks could have told someone if he knew, but instead he ran around preaching the guy's name and sporting his merch. It made him sick to his stomach to think about.

He was snapped from his thoughts as a hand touched his shoulder, someone telling him he should go home and rest. Honestly he was so out of it at the moment that he couldn't even remember what hero it was, just numbly nodding his head and making the trip back to his apartment.

The door was still open from when he was expecting Dabi to come back, and he was surprised that no one had ransacked the apartment when he was gone. Blearily he glanced at the clock on the dresser in his bedroom, 3:10 am blinking mercilessly back at him.

With a groan he flopped face first onto his bed, and the next thing he knew he was waking up to the alarm blaring in his ear at 5 in the morning. Yeah, that early bird catches the worm shit was not happening today.

After successfully silencing his oppressor Hawks rolled over on the bed, shutting his eyes and attempting to go back to sleep. But it was too late, he was awake. Sure, he was physically and emotionally exhausted enough to want sleep, but Dabi's words just would not leave him alone.

 _"If you really meant it when you said that you wanted to be a decent human being and help me, then do it. Get me the hell out of here."_

Hawks really did want to be a decent human being and help Dabi. But was that the right thing to do? He would be letting a known murderer and villain out of prison, and it would be obvious that he did it. If the villains had any doubt that he wanted to help them, that would put it to rest. But Hawks couldn't give a fuck about the other villains right now.

This wasn't about them. This wasn't about the League, or the Heroes, or any of that "doing the right thing" bullshit.

This was about Hawks and Dabi.

Dabi, who was really the abused shell of Touya Todoroki.

Weren't heroes supposed to try and save everyone?


	11. Chapter 11

"What kind of pathetic excuse for a block was that?! USE YOUR QUIRK!"

Enji's voice was so loud, Touya was surprised that people outside didn't hear it. Or maybe they did, and just didn't care. It wasn't like they didn't do this every night until four in the morning, or whenever Touya passed out if he couldn't last that long. Then drag himself out of bed at seven to patch up his own wounds, help Fuyumi make breakfast and get them ready for school and daycare before shooing them off. Touya didn't go anymore, he didn't have the time or energy. Crash for a few hours, then wake up from hunger again as his body demanded nutrients to make up for his physical condition. Try to have a minute of peace and quiet, before Enji would come around for round one of Touya's literal hell.

Physical work in the afternoon, which only stopped once the other kids returned home from school and Touya would scrape himself off the ground to help them with supper and homework before making them go to bed. Then it was quirk strengthening and combat from nine to four, Enji's work permitting of course. Pass out, then rinse and repeat.

So Touya was no stranger to the pain and exhaustion that came from using his quirk continually for hours. His hands were still bandaged from the day prior, but new burns and raw red skin were growing up his arms.

Said arms were literally shaking as he pushed himself up from the ground, head throbbing and mouth dry as he had practically sweat or burned off any moisture left in his body. It was a struggle just to stand, and Touya wanted to yell at him to stop, that he was trying, but he knew it would gain nothing but more yelling and pain.

It was obvious that he wouldn't be able to fight Endeavor in this condition, or even effectively get out of the way of whatever attack that Enji would throw at him. That didn't mean that Enji was going to stop, of course.

The flames came first, high at Touya's face and all the boy could manage to do was put his arms up and let out a cry of pain as more of his skin was singed. At least it wasn't his face. He could hide his arms.

Not even seconds after that a force hit Touya hard across the stomach, sending him back and into the wall. A cough was forced from his throat and then a gag, his body crumpling to his hands and knees as he vomited onto the ground.

Touya was crying, fuck, how he hated crying in front of Enji.

It meant he was weak.

A failure.

He wiped the tears from his eyes and then his mouth with the back of his hand, not caring anymore that it stung the burns.

Usually now Enji would go on a tangent about how much of a pathetic waste of time Touya was, but this time there was only silence.

And then fire. Everything was on fire.

Touya was on fire.

Dabi woke up with a jolt, a look of sharp fear over his face. His black hair was plastered to his forehead from sweat, hands slightly trembling as he let go of his intense hold on the plain bedsheets.

"Woah there, hot stuff. You okay?"

Dabi blinked a few times, breathing heavily as he came back to the dark cell that he was in. That's right, that was all in the past. He was alone here, captured by the heroes and would probably never-

"Hawks?!" The voice that he heard finally clicked in his mind, and he whipped his head over to find the source of the noise.

"The one and only."

Yeah, it was Hawks. How Dabi wanted to just smack the shit-eating grin off Hawks' face that he knew he was wearing.

Fuck Enji, fuck the stupid nightmares that wouldn't go away, and fuck his own weak constitution.

Dabi turned and slid off the bed slowly, looking down at his hands and the new clothes that he had been forced to wear. Plain and white, which would no doubt get dirty in a matter of minutes. He came up to the edge of the cell, where Hawks was standing outside in the dim lights.

He couldn't see much, but he could tell that Hawks was feeling just about as good as Dabi looked at the moment.

"Well, you look like shit." Dabi poked, wondering what he was even doing here. Yes, he was well aware of the offer that still stood, but he thought that Hawks was going to say no. He bet Hawks was here to tell him the truth, that he wasn't going to help him and that everything he had done was all fake.

"Well, I couldn't exactly get some beauty sleep while I was plotting your escape, now could I?"

Seriously, Hawks was going to tease him about that. It left a sour taste in Dabi's mouth, and he was about ready to fire back some very choice words at the hero until he heard the sound of the lock opening.

"Hawks, I could kiss you right now." The words left Dabi's mouth before he could reel them back in, the angry tension leaving his body.

"Please do."


	12. Chapter 12

Fuck, why did Hawks have to say that.

Why couldn't he have just kept his confused feelings inside and not made a fool of himself in front of the one person that was the bringer of those feelings. Honestly, with how these past few days have been going he should have expected them to come out at some point, but why now?

He should have gotten more sleep.

Judging by the expression on Dabi's face, which was a whole other thing in and of itself, his immediate reaction was not a reassuring one. Great. Hawks had probably totally misread him and was neck deep in freeing a person that literally could care less about him.

"It was a joke, Dabi. Seriously, lighten up man." Hawks gave a light laugh, cracking a sliver of that trademark grin but hating how hollow it felt. He should have known. Always too optimistic for his own good. He turned to head down the hall and lead Dabi out, hearing the other scoff and then quickly follow him.

They went a bit in silence, through the hallways that Hawks had made sure would be clear before he took Dabi through them. After a moment he heard Dabi hesitate, and turned around to see what the other could possibly want.

"We should grab Toga and our phones before we leave. The League won't be happy with just my ass showing up." Of course, Dabi wasn't just thinking about themselves. Couldn't he not be such a strategist for five minutes?

"No." Hawks would literally get fried alive not only by the Commission and Endeavor but all of the hero society if he just let all of their leads and info walk out the door. He was helping Dabi, personally, but not the entire League. That was too much.

"No? You're already betraying the heroes by letting me go, why not just grab everything? You want to get into the League, don't you? That's how you do it."

It was literally taking everything in Hawk's control not to slap Dabi across the face at the moment, a tight sigh leaving his lips. Why did he decide to like this guy of all people? All the Todoroki's were dense as bricks when it came to emotions. In the back of his mind Hawks knew that was probably because of Endeavor, which made him feel guilty for thinking that but not enough to take it back.

"This isn't about the League, Dabi. Full facts, I don't want to join the League. That was all just an excuse to get into your ranks and get information." Telling Dabi all of this now was probably a horrible idea, but Hawks couldn't help it. "I'm freeing you because somehow I came to the conclusion that I wanted to."

He saw Dabi freeze up at that, trying to process the fact that Hawks was admitting to not caring and yet also caring a lot at the same time.

"So you were just using me the whole time. Didn't take you to be that kind of guy, Hawks." Dabi's features had set into a hard frown, like he was disappointed in the winged man. As if Hawks was the one being a bigger asshole here.

"Dabi-" Did he literally just completely miss the part about Hawks going out of his way to personally help him?

"Why are you still helping me then?" Dabi interrupted him before Hawks could finish, the hero closing his mouth as he could feel the ache in his chest growing. Couldn't Dabi just shut up for once and accept help. He certainly wasn't making it easy for Hawks to do this.

"Maybe because I want to! Maybe because I realize that people aren't what they seem and I thought that maybe you were one of those people, Touya!"

Immediately after the name left his mouth Hawks regretted it, even though it was true. Dabi looked incredibly hurt, and for the first time Hawks saw… sadness flicker over Dabi's features before he was angry again.

"Well what if I'm not! What if Touya is gone and all that your stuck with is my crusty ass?! Give me one reason to believe that you'd still want to save me!"

"I don't know, maybe because I love you?! That good enough for you?! Maybe consider that not everyone is a terrible human being like you think they are?"

Well, so much for hiding that from Dabi. Hawks didn't even bother stopping to see what reaction he had, turning on his heal and booking it down the hall in a flurry of red feathers before slamming the door shut behind him after he left.

Yes, he had gone in to free Dabi and ended up just locking him inside again, but Hawks was mad. Mad, and hurt, and a bunch of other emotions that he didn't even know how to describe. It wasn't like Dabi would be going anywhere anyway, so Hawks was just going to leave him there until he figured out his own feelings towards the fire user.

Maybe some time to think would do Dabi good.


	13. Chapter 13

"Hawks- wait!" Immediately after Hawks turned from him Dabi called after the hero, but moving his limbs after him felt like treading through lead. Was Dabi afraid of him leaving? Maybe. Dabi didn't want to be trapped here till he was put on trial and then locked away forever. And he wasn't sure what happened to Endeavor, but he would be furious if that monster got to walk free still while Dabi was the one to rot in jail.

He only snapped free to run when the door slammed shut with a heavy thud, the lock clicking in the silence that settled over the space.

"HAWKS!"

His fist pounded against the door, blue fire sparking up and exploding backwards over Dabi as it wouldn't be able to go through the specially formulated prison door. The hot fire sent pain rippling over his skin, but that was the least of his concerns at the moment.

"HAWKS PLEASE—"

Screaming the other's name was too much effort for his still recovering ribs and lungs, causing his voice to break and send him into coughs. He had to lean against the door, wheezing in a few breaths before he was back to normal. Or at least somewhat close considering that he was mostly covered in scars and bandages anyway. Fuck, he was a mess.

No, he most definitely did not have a watery eye that he wiped away with the back of his hand, putting his back to the door. Hawks had either walked away before he heard Dabi, or he was choosing to ignore him. Probably that second one.

Sighing he looked up as he heard the thud of boots down the hallway, just now realizing that there were alarms and lights blaring since he wasn't in his cell and had just used his quirk. He didn't put up a fight when the guards came close, holding out his hands and just letting them take him back. He didn't have the energy to try and fight them and escape now, and he was too busy thinking about other things anyway.

After the metal door clanged shut and sealed Dabi turned to the cot that he had been lying on when he woke up. The sheets were all messed up, and probably gross with sweat and blood and flaking skin, so Dabi didn't want to sleep on them. Much to the protest of the one guard remaining he tore them off the bed and threw them into a ball in the corner, before laying down with his back to the viewing window.

He was going to try to sleep, just blocking out everything that Hawks had said. It was easier to deal with it that way. If he didn't the man's confession would probably drive him insane just thinking about it and what it meant. He was fine with Hawks finding him attractive in a physical sense, which was a wonder in itself with how he looked, since that was just dumb lust on the bird's part. But love? When was the last time that someone told Dabi that they loved him? If he couldn't remember it, that probably wasn't a good sign.

Dabi just laid there for the longest time, gradually drifting off to sleep in the silence since it was still very early in the morning and he was exhausted.

This time he was woken up by a hand on his shoulder and a rough voice telling him to get up. That was enough to make Dabi wake up fast, back to his normal attitude. Sure, he might have dying inside of internal turmoil and remaining pain, but there was no need for the heroes to know that. He was good at operating in crisis mode, and appearing totally fine on the outside. Maybe too good, actually.

He was given new clothes to change into and a shower, and thankfully the items weren't hospital white or prison orange. It was just a plain black shirt and pair of jeans, which was slightly uncomfortable on his leg scars but he said nothing of it.

He wasn't sure what was going on or why they bothered to let him get cleaned up, but he found out soon enough. He was escorted to a different room, one with a table and bunch of chairs. There were what obviously looked like police and reporters, which made Dabi frown slightly. He was not in the mood to be convicted at the moment, not that he ever would be.

Although, to his surprise, they didn't put cuffs on him this time even though he was in a large room with quite a few people. He shifted uncomfortably in the hard chair, trying to make it at least a little better than feeling like he was sitting on a board.

He caught the eyes of one of the reporters, who looked fairly fidgety and nervous in his presence. Dabi smirked at that, watching her make a soundless "eep" as she moved to the next chair away from him. Still got it.

He looked up as the door was opened again, and immediately looked down again when he saw who it was that had entered. Hawks was here, and didn't look that happy. No, he just looked tired and like the whole situation made him sick. Dabi swallowed hard, staring down at his hands and suddenly very into picking at one of the staples on his wrist.

Now that he saw Hawks again, their conversation from last night was plastered into his brain.

 _"I don't know, maybe because I love you?"_

Okay, Hawks loved Dabi. First reality to accept. Did Dabi love Hawks? Maybe. What he did know is that he hated seeing the guy like that, and missed his stupid grin and playful remarks. That was pretty close, right? He didn't realize how into his own thoughts he was and how deeply he was picking at his scars and making them bleed until a familiar voice called his name.

"Dabi. Don't hurt yourself."

Dabi snapped his head up with a sharp breath in, tucking his hands under the table to hide them. He accidentally made eye contact with Hawks, the two of them just staring at each other for a long moment before Dabi painfully cleared his throat and glanced away for a second before back to Hawks.

"Nice to see a familiar face, chicken wings." He managed with a crooked smile, ignoring the flare of warmth in his chest when Hawks actually gave him a grin, albeit a tired one. Okay, so Hawks still liked him enough not to ignore him. That was good to know.

Dabi fell silent then again as Hawks turned to whisper to one of the reporters. He didn't know what was going on, but whatever it was clearly was fucking with Hawks. He did have his suspicions, namely related to his father, but he was going to attempt to listen to Hawks first before forming any opinions this time.

"Well, anyway, since you're here now I guess we can get started." Hawks said a little louder to draw everyone's attention in, and all the personal gathered around the table which a few of them were sitting at including Dabi. Dabi could tell that Hawks was slightly uncomfortable being in charge of whatever this was, but he was doing it anyway. Was he really that in tune with Hawks that he could tell that?

"In light of the recent events that happened here regarding Endeavor-" Hawks visibly paused, but Dabi hardly noticed as he just wanted to sink further into his seat. "-the hero society decided that it would be wise to collect official evidence and statements to understand what was really going on and give a solid ruling for the trial."

Dabi stiffened up at that, glancing over at Hawks. There was no way he was lying about this. They seriously were putting Endeavor on trial for at least child abuse if not also emotional neglect of his children. Hard to believe that any of the heroes believed that besides the ones that were present when Dabi spilled his trauma, but at least they were making steps in the right direction. At least his father wouldn't be able to go home, and slap the family with the information that Touya was in fact still alive and was the villain Dabi.

"Don't you already have what I said recorded? I don't want to say it again." Don't need everyone in the media knowing that Dabi was a little weak crybaby who couldn't stand up to his own dad.

"Yes, but we were hoping that it would help us in another way, Touya-" Visibly Dabi bristled and bared his teeth at the recorder that had the audacity to say his given name in such a patronizing way, and they quickly corrected. "-Dabi."

"Natsuo has already come down from his college to give his statement, and is now staying with Shouto and Fuyumi. Fuyumi has given hers as well, but Shouto so far has refused. We're hoping that if you give one first it'll convince him that he should as well." Of course Shouto wouldn't want to, Dabi didn't want to either.

Then a thought hit his mind, and very slowly he contemplated it before voicing it. "What about Rei?" Fuck, that came out more emotionally tainted than he wanted, swallowing the lump in his throat. He felt a hand on his shoulder, not even needing to look up to know that it belonged to Hawks.

"She has been living with Shouto and Fuyumi for some time now, recovering well and has agreed to give a statement." Dabi felt a breath of air leave with that, or maybe it was the fact that he just realized Hawks was silently rubbing his thumbs over Dabi's shoulders and kneading out the tension that was making his body ridged.

"Well, then I guess I don't have a choice. Let's get it over with." Dabi groaned, hoping that he could just give a short answer and leave. As if the world would be so kind. He ended up spending almost two hours spilling out his guts to almost strangers, and it didn't help that Hawks was there the whole time. Dabi was built on secrecy and the tough shell that he made, and with that gone he felt exposed and vulnerable.

Eventually Hawks pulled Dabi from the room, telling the people that he was going to take him back to his cell to rest a bit. Only, Hawks didn't take him back that way, he led Dabi right outside the building and out to his car.

"This doesn't look like a cell to me." Dabi remarked, trying to sound teasing but it just fell flat.

"That's cause it's not. You're unofficially spending the night at my place. Don't question it." Hawks gave that slight, tired but still somewhat okay smile to Dabi before he got in. Dabi didn't question it, too tired to care. It seemed like they were just going to fall back into the old way of doing things, except with the knowledge that Hawks had feelings for Dabi. Maybe it was like they both were just pretending it never happened, which could also be the case.

They were both silent on the ride back, which was weird with Hawks who usually talked a lot, but it just didn't seem right. Also, for some reason, Dabi felt on the verge of crying the whole time, which he attempted to shove down and ignore as he looked out the window.


	14. Chapter 14

Hawks bit his lip as he drove them back to his place, wanting to say something but knowing that Dabi probably just wanted to sit in silence after talking for so long. The whole situation with Endeavor was just horrible, he still couldn't rap his head around the fact that the number two hero had done such things to multiple children as well as his wife.

Hawks could tell that doing all of this was very taxing on Dabi as well, and his heart ached to something, anything, nice for the guy to try and relieve some of that. Slowly he reached his hand over the gear shift divider, just touching Dabi's wrist with his fingertips. He felt Dabi's hand twitch with the touch, but he didn't move it away, so Hawks went a little further and laced his hand with Dabi's.

Of course, he didn't expect any reciprocation back, hell he figured Dabi would just pull away. Hawks just kept his eyes on the road, not making it seem like he was belittling Dabi's emotional state with pity, just trying to be as casual as possible even though his heart was pounding with every second that Dabi didn't pull away.

And then Dabi actually gave Hawks' hand a squeeze, which caused Hawks's heart to practically skip a beat.

Okay, okay, it was just hand holding. No need to freak out. He wasn't doing it to be romantic, he was doing it to give Dabi some kind of reassurance that he wasn't alone in going through this and that it was okay to lean on others for support.

But this was more positive physical contact than Dabi had shown him since Hawks' met him.

Gradually Hawks could tell that Dabi's grip was getting tighter on his hand, and that he was trembling badly, but Hawks just began to slowly rub his thumb over the back of Dabi's hand. He probably was trying not to cry, judging by how he was breathing and not looking over at Hawks. That was okay with Hawks, he knew that this was a lot, and he was going to just slowly nudge Dabi in the direction of release one little moment at a time.

When they got to the apartment Hawks let Dabi be the one to let go first, before Hawks went to open the apartment. He headed inside, shrugging off his jacket and pulling off his shoes as he walked in further to stretch his wings out for a moment. Hawks heard Dabi's footsteps behind him, but then they stopped and Hawks turned around to see why.

"Hey, man, you okay?- Dabi?" Hawks' face immediately crinkled in concern, taking a step towards the villain.

Dabi, to put it shortly, was crying.

Not just a few tears and watery eyes, but almost sobbing if not for the fact that he was dead quiet. He attempted to turn away from Hawks and hide his face, not answering him at all and just making his escape to the bathroom before slamming the door shut. Hawks heard him lock it, letting out a small sigh.

He contemplated going over and talking to Dabi to get him to open the door, but he figured the other would just cuss him out till he went away.

So Hawks went into the kitchen, getting rid of what was left of the old pot of cold coffee. He decided to attempt to make some tea instead, which he was hoping would turn out nice for Dabi. Again, Hawks couldn't cook, but how hard could boiling water and some tea leaves be?

For a couple minutes while he was getting the supplies he kept to himself, quietly humming to try and fill the silence that was getting to him. Sometimes a half stifled sob would be heard from the bathroom, and Hawks just went quiet, staring down at his hands as he waited for the water to heat up. He felt absolutely terrible about it, like he couldn't do anything for the guy that was so very clearly not okay.

Finally when it was done Hawks poured himself a cup and one for Dabi, coming over to sit on the floor outside the bathroom door. He folded his legs in, bringing his wings in close even though they were drooping quite a bit. After taking a sip of the tea and deeming that it was acceptable Hawks plucked one of his feathers, making it slid under the door to the other side where Dabi was. He could tell that Dabi saw it when the crying became obviously stifled, like he was trying to stop because Hawks was there.

"Fuck off. I don't want your pity."

Yep, that's what he was expecting.

"Will you accept my tea then? I made some for the both of us." Hawks tried to put a light tone into it, for the more normal he acted the more Dabi would accept the situation. If he acted weird or overly sympathetic that would just make Dabi uncomfortable and mad.

"Leave it outside and go away." Dabi's hoarse voice came through the door, but at least he was accepting the offer. It was a start. Hawks stood up, making sure that the mug was off to the side so that it wouldn't get hit by the door when Dabi opened it.

He decided to go preen his wings in the bedroom so that if Dabi would come out he wouldn't have to face Hawks before going to bed if he didn't want to. After changing into something more comfortable he went to work, taking his time.

Unfortunately, Dabi didn't even come out in the time it took Hawks to finish, which worried him slightly but he didn't go check on Dabi. He was going to let the other come to him, and besides, he still had his feather in there so he knew Dabi was physically okay.

Yawning Hawks stretched out before laying down on the bed, wings to the one side as he rested on his side with his back to the door. He was very aware of the silence and the occasional sniffle he would hear from the bathroom, but even with that and all the thoughts running through his mind exhaustion claimed him and he fell asleep.

Hawks eventually stirred as he felt something touching his wings, shifting to make himself more comfortable before he recognized the familiar space heater like warmth. Dabi was crawling into the bed with him, burying his face into the soft feather of Hawks' wing.

"Don't say anything or I'll fucking burn your face off." Dabi's voice was still hoarse and tired, but Hawks couldn't help but slightly smile. Clearly they were getting somewhere, since Dabi felt okay with doing such a thing and basically asking to be in physical contact with Hawks.

"Also, your 'tea' sucked. Tasted like cold lettuce water."

"Hey! I tried!" Hawks might have sounded a little offended, but he couldn't bring himself to totally be with the warmth that was spreading through his chest. Dabi was talking, making little jabs like he used to. This was good.

They settled into silence after that, Hawks simply listening to Dabi's breathing as it gradually slowed to show that he had fallen asleep. Very, very, ever so carefully Hawks maneuvered his wing out from under Dabi, feeling prickles throughout as it had fallen asleep from his weight on it. He then shifted to his other side, so that he was now facing Dabi, laying so close that they were almost touching. He laid his other wing over Dabi, for the softness but also because Dabi was very warm. He sighed, letting the tension out of his body as the warmth spread, closing his eyes again.

A few minutes later he felt Dabi shift, hearing a quiet sniffle. Dabi was awake and crying again, trying to push himself out from under Hawks wing and away.

"Dabi. Come here." Hawks quietly whispered, reaching a hand out to grab his shoulder and pull him in again. Thankfully Dabi didn't resist, curling against Hawks with his face buried in Hawks' shirt as the winged hero wrapped his arm around Dabi. Yes, he was hugging Dabi. The poor guy needed it, that was for sure.

Hawks didn't say anything else, just holding Dabi as he trembled and silently cried. They spent a while like that, Hawks rubbing his hand over Dabi's back soothingly. He continued to do this until Dabi was quiet again, and only when Hawks was sure he was asleep again did he close his eyes to drift off himself.


	15. Chapter 15

Dabi groggily woke up in the morning to find himself totally enveloped in Hawks' wings, face full of red feathers. He did have to admit that he was very comfortable and warm, even though his body still ached and his throat was prickling with pain from Endeavor's fresh burn. Hawks' didn't seem to be awake, his even breathing the only other noise in the apartment besides Dabi. He let out a sigh, shifting to be slightly more comfortable, about to close his eyes again and go back to sleep.

And then everything hit him.

The events of yesterday, Hawks' confession, the police report about Endeavor, coming here and crying his eyes out.

And then sleeping in the same bed as Hawks, curled against his chest and protected by his wings.

Fuck, he hated how much he was comfortable right now. How much he would love to do nothing else but fall asleep like this every night. As if that would ever be a reality. But- Hawks did say that he loved him. That meant he wanted to do things like this too. With Dabi, even though he knew he was an asshole. And a villain. As if that would work out.

Taking a deep breath and steeling himself for the uncomfortable sensation of moving Dabi very slowly pushed Hawks' wing off of his body. He froze when Hawks stirred, waiting for the guy to wake up and make him stay.

But it didn't happen.

Hawks just rolled a little onto his front, ruffling the displaced wing before it settled and silence resumed. Dabi let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, carefully sliding off the bed and onto the floor.

He was about to leave, but then thought that it probably wouldn't be good for him to be walking around in the clothes that the prison gave him. So he rooted through Hawks' clothes, shaking his head at the number of shirts with horrible hawk puns. Of course he would. Finding a somewhat normal one in a deep blue he switched his out, wincing silently at the pain that was still in his side when he moved his arms. Thankfully Hawks had a more acceptable selection of pants, Dabi picking out a black pair that he took with him into the bathroom.

After changing he ran some cool water over his face, attempting to lessen the fact that his face looked absolutely terrible. Crying made his skin red and puffy, well, the part that was still normal. That combined with the scars on his face, and there was no mistaking that he had been through some shit.

Coming back into the living room he saw that Hawks was still asleep, which was good. Dabi was going to engage in some more criminal and villainous acts, and having Hawks be asleep would be easier than trying to explain to him what he was going to do.

He knew he should stay, should eat something, should stop Hawks from getting in trouble for letting him out.

That's what he should do.

Dabi was terrible at doing what he should do.

He stopped at the door to Hawks' bedroom, sighing before stepping inside. Quietly he went over to Hawks' dresser, picking up his wallet and leafing through it. ID, a few cards, random receipts, and cash. Dabi pocketed the money, leaving the rest and putting it back where he found it. The special silver hero credit card was probably stacked with riches, but the purchases could be easily traced.

He turned to leave the room, but heard Hawks stir again and he paused.

"Dabi? What are you doing up?" Hawks yawned, and Dabi spun back around to face him. He had no idea what Dabi had just done or was going to do, and for a second Dabi felt a pang in his chest.

"Just gonna have a smoke." He said with a shrug, watching as Hawks gave a little noise of acknowledgement before flopping back down onto the bed.

Dabi didn't waste any longer leaving the bedroom, stopping only to grab the pack of cigarettes that he had left on Hawks' couch days prior. He was a little surprised the guy hadn't moved them, but then again it wasn't like Hawks had been home much either.

Stepping outside Dabi shut the apartment door behind himself, taking out a cigarette and sticking it in his lips as he lit it with his flame. The box went into his other pocket, legs carrying him away from the apartment.

There would be no way for Hawks to contact him now that he didn't have his phone, so as long as Dabi got a reasonable distance away from the apartment and found somewhere to stay he would be fine.

That would be if he could get rid of the feeling in his chest. He'd felt it before, so he knew what it was, and he didn't like it.

Guilt.

Hawks had placed a lot of trust in Dabi by taking him home and not leaving him in the prison. Hawks had made sure that Dabi had somewhere to stay that wouldn't record every moment of his sobs, and given him a good nights rest. Hawks had been incredibly nice to Dabi, even when Dabi was a total jackass. Hell, Hawks had fucking confessed his love for Dabi.

What was Dabi doing?

Stealing from him. Lying. Breaking the trust that Hawks put in him. Disappearing.

Yeah, it kind of made sense why Dabi felt like a piece of shit.

And yet he was still walking away.

He made it a couple more blocks before he couldn't take it anymore, but still finding a public phone so the call couldn't be tracked. It was early enough in the morning that not that many people were out, and it was kind of cold, but that didn't bother Dabi.

He put the cigarette out under his shoe before making the call, trying not to think about the fact that he knew Hawks' number by memory somehow.

It rang, and rang, and rang, Dabi's heart pounding in his chest as he waited to see if Hawks would pick up. Hopefully not, because it would be so much harder to say what he was going to say.

There was the dial tone, signaling that Hawks had missed the opportunity to pick up the call. It went to his voicemail, Hawks' usually chipper voice coming over the slightly crackly line. He hadn't really sounded like that really since Dabi was captured.

"Hey! You've reached the voicemail of Hawks, Number Two Hero. Sorry I missed the call, probably doing important hero stuff. Leave a message and I'll get back to ya asap! Well, if I remember to check my phone when I get back, but anyway! Leave a message, yeah?"

There was the familiar beep, and then a beat or two of silence before Dabi realized that he was supposed to be talking. He was too focused on Hawks' recorded voice that he momentarily forgot what he was even doing calling him. He swallowed, clearing his throat before finally speaking.

"Hey. It's Dabi. I'm not coming back."

Nice job dumbass, he probably figured that out already.

"Look, it's not anything you did. You're great Hawks. That's kind of my problem. I'm not. I'm a shitty person, a shitty liar, and apparently a shitty villain because I can't even do this without feeling bad about it."

Dabi was grinding his teeth together as he said that, pausing to take a breath and attempt to calm down.

"I- uh, I've been thinking about it a lot actually, even though we haven't talked about it."

Fuck, his mouth felt dry and getting the words out was a struggle.

"You loving me. It's- it's great, honestly. Like, shit, it's been a long time since that's happened for sure. But it's not going to work out. Even if I did care about you like that- which dammit I think I fucking do- there's no way."

Yeah, there, he said it.

"You're the Number Two. With Endeavor out, that makes you Number One. So congratulations. But as soon as they see you with me, you're done. I don't want to be the one to ruin that for you. I'm not a good person, Hawks."

He let out a breath, the silence carrying on like he was done for a moment before he spoke again.

"I'm sorry."

Dabi barely wasted a second after that to hang up the phone, turning quickly to walk away.

And, no, he most definitely was not crying.


	16. Chapter 16

Hawks rolled over on the bed with a groan when his phone alarm was blaring, waking him up from his sleep. He noticed that Dabi was still not back from having his smoke, and Hawks wondered how long he had fallen back asleep for. A few minutes? Couldn't be very long if Dabi was still gone, right?

Flopping his hand over towards the dresser he grabbed his phone, turning off the alarm and looking at the time. Wait, it was almost noon? How long had his alarm been ringing before he woke up? And where was Dabi? Probably done with sleeping. In the back of his mind he hoped that maybe Dabi was cooking something in the kitchen that Hawks could sneak a bite of, but he didn't smell anything.

Running a hand through his messy blonde hair he sat up, stretching his wings before coming out of the bedroom. No Dabi in the living room, and the bathroom door was open so he wasn't in there. He poked his head into the kitchen, but there was no evidence that Dabi had been in there either.

Did the poor guy get caught again? Hawks plopped onto the couch, folding his legs up and turning his phone on again. Oh, there was a voice message. An unknown number, but maybe it was important. Hawks did only have a couple people saved in his phone after all.

Sighing he brought it up to his ear after pressing play, relaxed until he heard the first words.

"Hey. It's Dabi. I'm not coming back."

Hawks froze, his breath catching in his throat. Dabi had left him. He shouldn't really be surprised, Dabi was a villain after all. Hawks should have expected it. He should have left Dabi in the cell when he had the chance. But a part of him had hoped that Dabi would understand and not take advantage of Hawks' kindness.

He should have known.

He was thinking about that so much that he didn't even catch what Dabi was saying, snapping back with what was probably the most important part of the phone call.

"-Even if I did care about you like that- which dammit I think I fucking do- there's no way."

Okay, Dabi just basically confessed, in his own Dabi way. But why now, after escaping from Hawks? Hawks was hanging on his words again, something he knew he should stop but couldn't manage.

"You're the Number Two. With Endeavor out, that makes you Number One. So congratulations. But as soon as they see you with me, you're done. I don't want to be the one to ruin that for you. I'm not a good person, Hawks."

Hawks' chest sank, eyes looking down at the apartment floor. It was probably the worst congratulations he had ever felt in his life. Sure, Dabi wasn't the greatest person, but he didn't the greatest childhood either. Hawks' didn't want to become number one standing on the backs of the entire Todoroki family as their trauma was exposed to the world. He should give it to someone else, he couldn't do this. Not here, not now, not-

"I'm sorry."

The familiar solid beep on the other end signaled that Dabi had said all he wanted to and hung up, leaving Hawks with the sound of his rough voice stuck in his head.

Dabi was sorry, and he thought he was doing something good for Hawks. Even though it felt like he was literally doing the opposite and tearing Hawks to pieces.

Yeah, Hawks wasn't going anywhere today. He curled up on the couch, wings wrapping around himself. He sent a text to the agency, ignoring the worried texts back that pinged his phone as he sighed and got up to get himself a drink. There was no doubt he would get in trouble for letting Dabi out, but he could just say that the villain got away and not that Hawks had let him go away.

He could go look for him, but Dabi was good at hiding when he didn't want to be found.

Eventually he turned on the television, flipping through channels to see if there was anything about Endeavor. Or Dabi. Although he doubted the guy would get caught already, unless his injuries were still hurting him more than he let on.

Finding nothing, he settled on a random channel before gradually dozing off against the side of the couch.

He was roughly woken up by his phone ringing loudly, groggy for a moment before quickly wiping the drool from corner of his mouth and answering. "Yeah, this is Hawks."

"Good, you finally answered. You're in some hot water, Hawks."

Ugh, it was the Hero Commission.

"The covert mission is over. Many suspect that you've actually gone to the villain side with Dabi since you let him out. We managed to scrap together a cover excuse that he influenced and threatened you to save face, but we can't continue."

Hawks was going to respond to that, give some reply to give them faith that he wasn't influenced by Dabi, but that was a flat out lie. The Commission also continued talking before he had the chance.

"Now, on the matter of Endeavor and the Hero Ranking Order. He has been removed for the duration of the investigation and trial until a ruling is determined, which would make you Number One. However, because of your compromised situation, the Heroes and Hero Commission have decided to temporarily remove your hero status. Once that situation changes, you give us evidence that you're really a hero, or Dabi resurfaces, then your status will be reevaluated."

No...

Sure, Hawks didn't want to be number one, but he didn't want it to be like this.

"Make sure to get some rest, and take a hard look at your choices, Hawks. Let us know when you've come to a decision."

And then the line was dead, leaving Hawks with that unfortunately familiar feeling in his chest.

He didn't have many options here. He could deny what he had told Dabi and prove that he was going to be a hero by helping them capture the villain again. He could do nothing, and exist in this painful limbo. Or he could contact Dabi, and actually turn into a villain.

None of those seemed too appealing at the moment.

He sighed, closing his eyes and letting his phone drop onto the couch as he ran his fingers through his hair. It could use some help, getting all ruffled and greasy since he hadn't been really concerned with washing it.

What was he going to do?


	17. Chapter 17

What in the literal fucking hell was Dabi doing?

He felt like he was just wandering around without an actual purpose, unable to really calm down and just take a minute to cry and breathe. He didn't have time for that. He had to move. Had to go. Had to do something.

He had no idea what that something even was until he looked up and found himself standing on the sidewalk in front of a gate.

The gate that separated the Todoroki house from the outside world.

Why was he here? Endeavor wasn't, so it couldn't be to kill him. There was absolutely no reason for Dabi to be standing in front of the hero's house. He didn't belong there; he was a villain and this was the house of a hero, albeit an abusive and manipulative one.

Maybe that wasn't why he was here then.

Maybe, just maybe, it was Touya that wanted to come back. Everyone else was back. Rei was back. Apparently she was doing better.

Touya wasn't doing better, though. In fact, he was probably doing much worse, feeling like shit and ruining any chance of having what could have been at least somewhat of a romantic relationship.

He was human too. Sure, he might masquerade around like an untouchable villain, but that's not what he was. He had emotional limits and needs like everyone else.

Though he'd never admit the reason why he was here, it was simple.

Anyone going through a tough time emotionally, no matter who or what personality, would never turn down a chance to get a hug from their mother.

Of course, Dabi didn't even realize this was what he wanted, he just wanted to get rid of the pain in his chest and the tightness that was making it difficult to breath. Somehow, he felt like this would help it, though he had no idea how in hell it would.

He'd have to talk to them eventually, right? They'd all have to be present at the trial, and it would be awkward for that to be their first time meeting again after so long. He was bound to fuck it up anyway, might as well do it right now.

Somehow he found himself up at the front door, not remembering the walk up but not really caring.

He lifted his hand to knock on the door, but froze before making contact.

What was he doing? There was no reality where this was a good idea.

There was no way that any of them would accept him.

So why was he even trying?

Sighing he let his hand drop to his side, turning from the door and starting to make his way back towards the road.

A crack of lightning flashed through the sky, followed by a rumble of thunder before the rain started to pour down.

Great. Just fucking fantastic. Now not only was Dabi without a place to go, but he was going to get soaked. He grumbled under his breath as he shoved his hands into his pockets, just about to step out of the gate before a voice made him stop in his tracks.

"…Touya?"

Dabi slowly turned around, not expecting the sight before him.

Rei was standing in the doorway, one hand still on the handle as if she had just opened it. Her other hand was covering her mouth, and the look in her eyes betrayed everything that she was feeling.

Dabi couldn't even look at her, his eyes glued on literally anything other than her face after glancing over it.

How many years had it been since they'd seen each other? Ten? Dabi hardly recognized her. He was surprised she knew it was him under all of his scaring and modification.

Literally everything in his body was screaming for him to turn back around and walk away, to ignore the lump in throat and pretend that Touya really was dead. He couldn't do this. It was such a bad idea, what was he even thinking he should just leave-

He was snapped from his thoughts with a sudden contact, fingertips brushing the scars on his cheek ever so gently. Rei was standing out in the rain with him, getting just as wet under the droplets as she reached out to touch his face.

"It really is you.. my boy, Touya." Her voice was so quiet, trembling as she brought her hand away from his face and held her arms out as if she wanted to hug him but was unsure if he would just disappear. Fuck, Dabi could not deal with this.

"I-", Dammit, he really wanted to say that he wasn't Touya anymore and block it out, but that was not the words that came out of his lips.

"I- I'm sorry-"

It came choked out from his raspy throat, and somehow he found himself leaning over to wrap his arms around her, hands grasping the fabric of her shirt. His eyes were slammed shut, trying to ignore the tears that slipped down his face along with the raindrops. Thankfully Rei was also crying, which at least didn't make him feel alone in that respect.

"None of this was ever your fault, Touya.."

His mother might have been crying and her words weren't that clear, but they were clear enough for Dabi.

"I've missed you so much."

As much of a fuck up as he had thought he was all these years, and still believed he was, apparently not everyone thought that.

His thoughts went back to Hawks for just a flash of a second. Was this the same way that he felt about him? Obviously different because this was the love of a mother but it had to be the same kind of thing, right?

And Dabi had rejected that, which made him feel like shit all over again in his mother's arms.

He couldn't come up with anything to say to that, just clinging to her as she did the same, rubbing her hands over his back soothingly. At this point they were soaked, but neither cared.

Eventually Rei pulled back, running her thumbs over the scars under his eyes to wipe away the tears even though they simply got wet again from the rain. Dabi didn't feel like he needed to be 'mothered' anymore, yet he couldn't find the energy to protest her actions at this point. He was a jumbled ball of emotions, and his usual coping method of simply blocking everything out was not going to work here.

"Come inside with me… please Touya…"

How could he resist that? The look on her face, and just the way that her eyes seemed to be pleading with him.

He made sure to place his boots to the side so they wouldn't dirty the floor.


	18. Chapter 18

Hawks had dozed off again on the couch, instead of actually doing anything productive. He didn't really feel like it.

However he got up about an hour later, hardly able to actually sleep. His mind was churning with everything that had happened, and so far he was unable to come to a solid decision.

At the very least, he did know he wanted to help Dabi.

Poor guy probably didn't have anywhere to go, just wandering around with those injuries and trying not to get found. Hawks had no idea where to even start looking for him. He would have flown up in the air and looked for him, but that would catch a lot of attention and the city was huge. It would take him forever.

On a crazy whim, he decided to call Rei.

She had told him the last time he met with her that if he needed anything he could just call.

Of course, Hawks felt guilty about that too, the fact that he couldn't see what she was going through under Endeavor. He should have known, should have done something about it before it was too late. But it was too late now, and Hawks had to deal with the aftermath.

Yet, of course, Rei was the one dealing with him.

She was such a sweet woman. So strong. And probably best of all, Hawks could see how much she very clearly still loved Touya, or Dabi as he wanted to be called.

He told her that Dabi had left, and was just wandering around probably, so she should keep an eye out for him. After a long moment of hesitation, he also asked that if she did see him that she would tell him that Hawks wanted to talk to him. Maybe Dabi would still talk to him over the phone, if he didn't want to be seen with Hawks. All it would take would be a phone call to hopefully explain what he wanted to say.

The poor guy was dealing with all this other shit, feelings about Hawks didn't need to be added at the moment.

At the very least Hawks felt better after talking to Rei, and firmer in his decision.

He was going to save Dabi.

Getting up from the couch he took a shower, even actually washing his wings and taking the time to clean out his feathers and preen. This gave him time to think about what he was going to say to Dabi, which he probably would end up winging at the last second in the heat of the moment, but that's just how he rolled.

Then food and coffee, even though he kind of didn't feel like eating. Food would be important to keep his body going with everything that would be happening soon.

Finally, he went for a fly.

It had been a while since he had actually gotten out and stretched his wings, or even done something with them.

They were definitely stiff when he spread them out, and for a minute he thought about not, but he continued anyway. Maybe Dabi would see him, if not notice the people that would be pointing out his presence in the air.

What seeing him would make Dabi feel he didn't know, but maybe it would be good.

He pulled his visor over his eyes, before taking off into a run. His boots pounded against the gravel on the roof, leading to those few precious seconds of weightlessness once he jumped before his wings would push against the air and send him soaring.

Yup, he needed this.

The wind was cold against his skin, seeing as he hadn't bothered to put on his jacket, but the fresh air was never better.

He felt like he could breathe again.

He didn't want to have to deal with all the drama of Endeavor, the trial, the Commission, or even being a hero.

He just wanted to be.

To be able to do what he wanted, when he wanted.

Be with whoever he wanted.

And finally he was starting to understand how to do that.


	19. Chapter 19

Dabi didn't really feel like he needed to be "mothered" anymore, but damn if it didn't feel good.

After he took a warm shower to stave off the rain he found fresh clothes laying out for him, as well as a warm mug of tea waiting. He was surprised she had anything that would still fit him, but a quick look around the room revealed tags in the garbage can.

She bought him new clothes before he even showed up.

It made sense of course, they probably told her that he was still around when the police came to get statements from the family. Why she would have bothered with new clothes for him was a mystery, for there was no way for her to know that he was going to show up again like this. Maybe she was hoping that he would come back.

It was a nice thought that maybe at least his mother wanted to see him again.

Running a hand through his damp hair he then pulled the white shirt down over his scars, slightly surprised at how soft the material felt. The sweatpants were just as comfortable, and loose so the material didn't rub against his scars. This wasn't that she had just grabbed random clothes from the rack for him. She had really thought about what would be best for him now, even how he was.

He was getting worked up again thinking about just how much she still cared about him, shaking his head and pushing that away for the moment so that he could focus.

He touched his side carefully, testing the bruise that still remained. It was certainly sore, and one choice spot still caused him to wince and suck in a breath. Obviously he was still healing, and the burns around his neck were still slightly agitated although he couldn't feel the pain in that area anymore.

The tea was wonderful on his sore throat, however, compared to Hawks' sad leaf water. Although, Dabi couldn't bring himself to actually hate that, since Hawks had been trying. And it was probably Dabi's fault that it got cold anyway.

Carrying the mug with him he poked his head into the hall, noticing that it was rather quiet. Endeavor obviously wasn't here, but didn't that one woman at the prison say that his other siblings were staying here as well? He wasn't really in the mood to talk to all of them right now, to be honest.

Quietly he walked back to the kitchen, somehow very acutely aware of the feeling of the wooden floor under his bare feet. There was something about this place that stripped back the years, for good or bad, and made Dabi feel like he was fifteen years old again and coming into the kitchen to find something for lunch.

He'd say it was a nice feeling, but he wasn't sure if it was.

"I sent your siblings out on a little shopping trip before you showed up, so we're alone right now." Rei was standing by the stove, sliding the freshly chopped vegetables off the cutting board and into the pot on the burner. She sounded reassuring, which was weird as Dabi could find himself actually kind of relaxing. "Why don't you go sit down on the couch, I'll join you in a minute."

Dabi wordlessly followed her instruction, still feeling very out of place with the whole situation and not quite comfortable. He wasn't sure why, but it felt like he was almost afraid it wasn't real. Like he was just imagining all of this and he didn't want to stir up the dream into disappearing.

Tucking his legs up onto the couch he took another sip from the mug of tea she made him, glancing around the room that he hadn't been able to look at in so long. Now that it was quiet, he noticed that Rei had soft music playing in the background.

The place didn't feel quite so harsh like it did before.

It had only been a couple of days since Endeavor had been formally put in jail, but from the look of things here he had been gone before then. Did they finally break out of the cycle and actually force him to leave? Dabi felt a swell of this weird pride at that.

"How are you feeling?"

Rei's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, eyes flickering up to look at her. She sat down next to him, smiling softly in a way that made his chest hurt.

"Good- I'm good." Momentarily Dabi stuttered out the word, so he repeated himself clearer. He actually did feel good, in a strange way. Sure his wounds still hurt, but he was clean, comfortable, and safe.

He hadn't felt like that in a long time.

"I'm glad. I was so worried about you when Hawks told me what happened." She looked like she wanted to reach out and touch Dabi again, but was hesitating for some reason. To Dabi it looked like a slight distaste for what he was now, but he was conflicted about his reasoning for that thought.

Honestly, he couldn't let go the thought that people shouldn't care about him. His siblings, his mother, or Hawks. None of them should love the hot scarred mess that he was. He knew that they cared, obviously, but he couldn't shake it.

"Why though? You haven't talked to me for ten years." Dabi put the mug down on the coffee table, anything to avoid looking at Rei's face. "I'm a villain for fuck's sake, I've even killed a hero there's no reason why any of you should care-"

"Touya. Look at me."

Her tone was firm yet loving, and Dabi couldn't help but snap his head back up to look at her as she interrupted him.

"You're my son. Of course I'm going to be worried."

"But I'm not a good-" Dabi attempted to speak, only to have her interrupt him again. He could feel a lump building in his throat, and that feeling in his chest.

"Still my son."

"That doesn't make everything I've done okay! You can't just make everything bad disappear by giving me a few hugs or some shit it doesn't work like that! I don't deserve that!" His voice might have cracked, but that was the least of his concerns as he quickly attempted to wipe at the tears that threatened to slip out of his eyes again.

"It doesn't. But that doesn't mean you don't deserve love, Touya."

Dabi's eyes had closed to stop the tears, but he didn't need to see to feel Rei's arms wrapping around him into the second hug for that day.

"You could go on all day about the reasons that you think you shouldn't be loved, but I'd still be here. I- I failed you before, that wasn't your fault. Nothing that you went through was ever your fault."

Dabi certainly didn't feel that way, but hearing it from her was… really nice. He allowed himself to be hugged, resting his head on her shoulder as she rubbed smooth circles over his back.

They stayed that way for a couple minutes, Dabi just trying not to cry more and smear his tears. It became painfully obvious how much of a childhood Dabi had missed in these moments, as well as how much emotional support he never received.

"I love you, okay? I know you might not believe it or feel it, but I do. No matter what you are."

Rei's soft and slightly teary whisper was enough to make Dabi take his arms and wrap them around her as well, pulling himself closer to her tightly. He was glad that she couldn't see his face, because it was all wet and pink from crying.

A second later he felt a peck of a kiss pressed to the side of his hair, Rei finally able to give her son the sort of motherly affection that he didn't realize he was missing.

"You should call that Hawks boy, he was worried about you too, sweet thing." She suggested after another moment of pause, tilting her head to look at Dabi with what he was sure was that expression when your parents find out about your crush. Too bad he had to tell her what he did to Hawks.

"Was that before or after I stole his shit and told him to fuck off?"

"After, and I'm sure you didn't say that."

Well, that did kind of surprise Dabi. He had expected Hawks to just give up, not call his mom and still attempt to have some kind of connection to him. Of course Dabi wasn't going to call him right now, because he was still working through all of this. But later maybe.

Maybe he would call him.


	20. Chapter 20

Hawks' was still mid flight when his phone started ringing, and he sighed before pressing the button on his visor that was connected via Bluetooth. It better not be the fucking Hero Commission again trying to make him feel guilty about his life choices.

"Hey, this is Hawks, what's up?"

There was a pause on the other side before a very familiar rough voice crackled through the line.

"Uh, it's me. Dabi."

Hawks almost flew into the side of a building, letting out a very unmanly and birdlike squawk in surprise as he quickly got himself out of the way and straightened out. Why was Dabi even calling him? How was Dabi even calling him? Did he talk to his mom?

"Did you seriously just squawk like a fucking bird Hawks? I can't even-" Dabi's voice crackled again over the headset, and Hawks could swear that there was more humor to it than just his regular sarcasm.

"I almost crashed into a building!" He snapped back just as fast, making sure to land on the top of a roof first before continuing to talk so he wouldn't end up on the pavement. Of course, Hawks could fly and talk, but he was still thrown off by the fact that it was Dabi who called him and he didn't want to be emotionally compromised in the air.

Dabi didn't say anything back to that, and Hawks just stood there catching his breath in the silence.

For a moment he thought that Dabi might have hung up, but he heard a quiet exhale of breath from the other line that signaled that Dabi was still there.

"Where are you?" Hawks broke the silence, although his voice was quieter in the expectation that he might not get anything back from Dabi. He wasn't sure how to navigate this relationship, because Dabi basically said that he loved him but was never going to be with him in the same breath. But he said that because Hawks was going to be a hero. Now that Hawks wasn't, would he change his mind?

Hawks didn't want to seem like a desperate pining gay, but he probably came off that way.

"Rei's house. I'm outside for a smoke."

Of course Dabi made it sound like nothing important. Leave it to his emotionally stunted ass to pass off returning to his childhood home and his mother which he hadn't seen in ten years as no big deal.

"Are you okay?"

Judging from how much he had cried that night after talking about what he had gone through, Hawks was sure that being there was probably not easy for Dabi, much as he wanted to make it seem.

"Yeah.. I'm good."

Well, it was a start. At least he was getting something out of Dabi.

After that, however, they fell into a slightly awkward silence again, in which Hawks figured Dabi was taking a drag of his cigarette. He wasn't really sure what to say, or if he should say anything at all to try and convince Dabi to see him.

"Hawks?"

"Yeah?" Hawks replied almost immediately after the question, hating again how eager he was for any sort of reciprocation from Dabi.

"Why do you care about me? Besides wanting to be good person and helping me out. Why do you like me? It's not like there's much hanging out under this abused crusty ass shell besides anger and attachment issues so I don't see why-"

"Dabi. I like you. As a person. Yeah you might have some issues, but who doesn't." Of course Dabi would have to take the consequences for the actions that he did because of those issues, but the issues themselves weren't something that immediately made Dabi a bad person.

"Yeah well it's not like their issues are being a villain and literally killing people I don't see how people can keep forgetting about that-"

"Touya, just be quiet for two seconds and let me talk." Hawks didn't want to use his born name as he wasn't sure if Dabi was comfortable with it, but he knew it would shut him up so that Hawks could say what he wanted to say.

Dabi did go quiet, although Hawks could just image the look on his face and how his lips were tightly pursed downwards. He didn't mean to make him mad, but he did want to make him understand.

"First of all, if you still wanted to kill people then I'm sure you would have already burned me to a crisp. Second, from what I've seen of your league interactions, you do care about other people besides yourself with that big brother instinct like with Toga. Who I suspect we're going to probably have to break out later but anyways- My point is, you care. Sure, you might act like a smug asshole who doesn't need nobody, but I know you care. And I like spending time with you, even if we're not doing anything, because I want to get to know the person that's under that shell." Hawks was definitely rambling at this point, but he knew it was important for Dabi to hear all of what he had to say.

"…Also, I think you're hot and I'd love to smash that ass." Hawks couldn't help adding on with a smirk, mostly in the hopes of lifting the mood and getting Dabi to respond with something other than self-doubt and depreciation.

"Hawks, you fucking useless horny chicken nugget-" He heard a muffled sound at the end as Dabi cut off, which sounded a bit like he was on the verge of crying but also huffed out a laugh.

"You know you love me." Hawks replied back with a laugh, meaning just to be a tease, but he didn't expect the answer he was going to get back.

"Yeah, I do. Now get over here before I change my fucking mind."


	21. Chapter 21

Well, there was no running away from this situation now. Dabi had told Hawks he was going to be here to meet him, and Rei had overheard. There was no way that she was going to let him leave after that, especially since she had been the one to tell him to call the hero in the first place.

Dabi sighed, taking the last drag from his cigarette before stomping it out under his shoe and heading back inside.

He hadn't said the exact words displaying what he was beginning to feel for Hawks, but it was close enough. He didn't doubt that Hawks made the connection, seeing as the other had just gone on a huge rant about how much he loved Dabi and wanted to spend time with him.

If Dabi was being honest, he liked that.

Sure, he went around saying that he didn't need anyone and certainly didn't need the affection and attention from Hawks, but damn if it didn't feel just as nice as the affection from Rei. They were slowly getting him used to receiving positive interactions and letting people in, although he had a nagging feeling that it was going to turn him into a softy.

He couldn't be soft. Soft people got hurt.

The only way to stop being hurt was to become as hard as his scarred skin and push people away before they had a chance to even think about harming him.

He had tried to do that with Hawks, but that hadn't really worked out. Even though he tried to get Hawks to stop talking to him, stole his stuff, and told him it would never work, Hawks was still there and wanted to talk to Dabi.

That was such a foreign concept to him, and Dabi didn't understand why Hawks would even bother in the first place. Even when he continually told Dabi why he wanted to talk to him and help him and _be_ with him, Dabi still had trouble accepting it.

His horny ass aside, Hawks wanted to be in a romantic relationship with Dabi.

He loved Dabi, and he wanted Dabi to love him back.

He wanted to do cheesy romantic shit with Dabi like cuddle on the couch while watching a movie or make breakfast for each other in the morning while the sunrise came in through the window and sent a soft glow over Hawks' skin as he smiled at Dabi and his honey golden eyes sparkled while watching Dabi make eggs and bacon-

Fuck.

Okay, so maybe Dabi wanted to do cheesy romantic shit with Hawks too.

There wasn't anything wrong with that, was there?

He had a right to do things that normal people could without worrying about things like being labeled as weak or soft because of the other choices he made in his life.

It wasn't his fault that his father was fucked up and beat into him a fear of attachment.

Right?

Hawks said he wasn't a bad person and that he cared about people, which Dabi knew to be true deep down. He just didn't show it because attachment was a weakness and a liability in the villain profession. He didn't know if he wanted to be a villain anymore, really, or just slide under the radar until he found a way to make Enji pay for what he did.

Either way, he was stuck here till Hawks showed up.

Not to look too eager Dabi chose to sit in the living room and watch television quietly instead of waiting visibly for Hawks to show up. Rei was in the kitchen, keeping an ear out for Hawks so that she could let him in and give the two of them some time to talk.

Dabi heard the door open quietly before he heard Hawks' voice, and even though he had planned to stay sitting he found himself getting up to head over to the entryway regardless.

Rei skirted away quickly once she saw Dabi show up, giving him a knowing smile that made Dabi want to role his eyes and scoff. But it felt natural in a weird way, like how a mother and son were supposed to act with each other. It was late, for sure, but he actually had a mother to tease him about his stupid crush now.

Yes, fine, he did like Hawks more than just a work acquaintance or even a friend.

He wasn't sure what his own expression was when he looked over at Hawks, but he didn't have long to think about that before he was suddenly tightly wrapped in Hawks' arms and overwhelmed by his familiar scent. It was distinctly not like Dabi, who seemed to always smell of cigarette smoke and charred skin. It sent Dabi back to the memory of the two of them in Hawks' apartment, curled up under his blankets and tangled together as Dabi sobbed into his chest.

That was the most vulnerable that Dabi had been in a long time, and it was Hawks who saw that side of him.

"You have gotten me into some deep shit, Dabi, but I'm glad you're okay." Hawks pulled away from the hug, and Dabi sucked in a breath as he realized that he hadn't done so when Hawks was so close to him. He caught the smile on Hawks's lips, and returned it with a grin of his own.

"Oh, well, you know me. Fucking shit up for people since day one." Dabi managed a bitter chuckle with that, knowing how much Hawks knew about his situation with his father. But it only prompted Hawks to reach out and grab Dabi's wrist carefully, as if he wanted to prevent him from crossing his arms or pulling away from him.

"Dabi. You know that's not what I meant. Stop pushing me away. I don't think less of you because I got in trouble for letting you out. That was my choice, and I stand by it." Hawks took a step closer to Dabi, who considered backing up but decided against it in the last moment for some reason. His face was inches from Hawks', almost daring him to continue pressing closer to Dabi. Yet, Dabi peeled his eyes away from Hawks and set them on the ground.

"Why? I literally keep making shit worse for you and yet you still decide to come all the way out here and talk to me and I don't understand why-"

Dabi didn't get the chance to finish his counter argument however, being silenced as he felt flesh pressing against his lips. For a flash of a second he thought Hawks' had just gotten fed up with him and slapped a hand over his mouth, but that wasn't the case. Hawks' had decided that the best way to silence Dabi's never ending doubts was to kiss him with his soft lips, which seemed to have done the job well enough.

Aw hell, he was literally thinking about how soft Hawks' lips were against his instead of being concerned that Hawks had just decided to kiss him.

"Because I love you, okay? Is that enough to convince you?" Hawks' breathless words slapped him back to it as Dabi realized that he had pulled back, breaking off the contact. Worst of all, Dabi knew that he liked it.

To hell with this anti-romance shit he was spewing. He leaned in, this time being the first to make contact. He probably tasted like shit to Hawks, with his chapped and scarred lips as well as smoke breath, but he didn't care.

"Yeah, I guess it finally is."


	22. Chapter 22

Hawks was literally going to explode right now.

Okay, okay, no, he was fine. Nothing out of the ordinary here besides Dabi fucking leaning in first to kiss him. Dabi kissed him! Dabi, who would rather have burnt Hawks to a crisp when they first met and then thrown him out the window? That Dabi?

Honestly Hawks wasn't even thinking about the fact that Dabi's lips were about as smooth as sandpaper and just as hard, or that he tasted of cigarette smoke, he was more focused on the fact that Mr. Emotionally Stunted had the audacity to pull a move like this on him.

This was Hawks' turn to shut Dabi up with a kiss, not the other way around, yet Hawks found himself not knowing what to say in response to what was probably the closest to a confession Dabi was going to give.

There was a beat or two of what could be considered the most awkward and sexually tense moments in history with their faces inches from each other, before Hawks managed to shake it off and take a half step back so he could breathe. Somehow he found the scent of Dabi's self-destruction overwhelming, yet impossibly alluring at the same time.

He also never noticed how _blue_ Dabi's eyes were before. Yes, he knew he was Enji's son, so that wasn't what surprised him about them. They were sharp, like always, deep and clear and. . vulnerable.

Dabi had exposed a side of himself to Hawks that Hawks was pretty sure Dabi was having a hard time accepting, but this fiery risk taker had finally taken what was arguably the most important step if this relationship was going anywhere.

It was at this moment that Hawks' realized he still hadn't said anything, and poor Dabi was probably wanting to spontaneously combust as he waited for some sort of response.

Hawks cracked a bit of a smirk, his hand releasing the grip that it had on Dabi's wrist as he laughed lightheartedly. "Well, certainly took you long enough to admit it." Of course, Hawks didn't actually care about how long it took Dabi to confess or even just admit that he had feelings for Hawks, he just didn't want Dabi to take this so seriously. He hadn't really seen Dabi even smile since he'd left Hawks' apartment before he got captured. Hawks just wanted him to be able to let some of that tension out, hell, he'd needed to do that himself with all of his own drama, so no doubt Dabi needed to.

His eyes flickered over Dabi's face, looking for any sort of confirmation that Dabi took it as Hawks had intended it.

"Fucking- I confess to you and that's the first thing you say?" He saw the corner of Dabi's lip curl up even as he huffed and brushed off Hawk's comment, and Hawk's didn't think he'd ever be happier to see the stiches on Dabi's face pull as he was in this moment. "You know what? Don't even answer that, just come inside before I change my mind and decide to sear your lips off for that comment." Okay, this was good, Dabi was back to threatening him over pointless shit, which is probably the only time Hawks could actually say that he was happy someone was threatening him.

Dabi turned back into the living room as Hawks only laughed, and for the first time he was able to catch what Dabi was wearing. It wasn't his grimy old jacket and clothes that made Hawks worry that Dabi was going to catch an infection and die, thankfully. Bless Rei for being a good mom and buying her son clean and comfy items to wear.

Hawks' afforded a moment of his mind wandering as he had the sudden desire to spoon Dabi while he was wearing those clothes, curious as to how the soft fabric would feel in contrast to Dabi's scarred skin. It was getting late though, maybe he could convince Dabi to snuggle with him again tonight and maybe not get up and leave Hawks without telling him. Not that he was bitter about that or anything of course. Dabi had to work though some shit, and so did Hawks. But a warning would have been nice over a random payphone voicemail.

"So, you want to come in or are you going to just stand there all night?" Dabi's question snapped Hawks out of his trail of thought, the hero looking over to see Dabi standing in the doorway to the two rooms. He was going to reply with a legitimate answer, before his eyes caught the mug that Dabi was now carrying back from the living room. Bless Rei again, out here doing what no one else would. It was one of those stock photo mugs with a big ol' '#1 son' printed on the side of it, and judging by how nonchalantly Dabi was holding it he didn't realize that's what was on the side facing away from him.

Hawks' was going to let that go on for as long as possible, that's for sure. Much as he wanted to be the one spending the night with Dabi he knew it was incredibly important for Dabi to be here and not have to worry about his emotions about Hawks on top of his family and the fact that they'd have to talk about what Endeavor did, probably.

"I mean, I don't want to interrupt your family bonding time, Dabi. I know you guys probably have a lot to talk about and I don't want to be in the way, of course. I just- wanted to make sure that you were okay." He really was so worried about Dabi, and was happy to see that he was looking much better and taken care of. Not, that Dabi couldn't take care of himself, but with all the injuries he sustained it was nice for Hawks to know that someone would be watching over him.

"Oh, okay. Later then?"

The short answer was one that Hawks was used to from the fiery quirk user, but he could have sworn that Dabi looked just a smidge disappointed with his choice, and it almost made Hawks reconsider. He wanted to stay longer, but for all intents and purposes he had fulfilled his current mission going to that house, and much as he loved the Todoroki's he figured this reunion would probably go smoother without him basically eavesdropping on them the whole time.

"Later then." He repeated, reaffirming that he wasn't just walking away again, before breaking into a deep grin when he was at the door. "I'll see you soon, hot stuff."

He could almost hear Dabi's swearing retort coming from inside as he closed the door behind himself and made his way back to his car.


	23. Chapter 23

Would Dabi have liked to follow Hawks out to his car and return to the dinky apartment where he would be able to have a moment of peace and quiet from all this drama? Absolutely. But it was a little late to do that, the door was already closed and Hawks had already driven away.

Did Dabi want to stay here when the rest of the Todoroki family came back? Absolutely not. But did he have another choice? Not really. He could try and avoid it, sneak out the back or hide when they entered, but then he'd be letting down both Rei and Hawks, and he had quite enough of guilt already.

He didn't really know why he wanted to avoid them, honestly. Rei had accepted him easily enough, but he had no idea how Natsuo or Fuyumi would react. Not to mention Shouto, who had witnessed Dabi capture one of his classmates as well as plenty of other things. Would he understand? He had to know what being under Endeavor was like, even though he took that resentment out in a different fashion than Dabi did.

He might have been afraid of their reaction, but he would never phrase it like that.

They would have to understand, at the very least. That he just couldn't take it anymore, and that he was doing this to try and get rid of their abusive father forever. Sure, that was a little more than any of them were willing to go, actually killing him, but Dabi wasn't afraid to give that bastard what he deserved. Sure, they had given statements against him, and would most likely go to court to testify, as Dabi would have to, but he didn't know if they would look past what he had been trying to do.

He didn't know if he could handle looking them in the face only to have them turn their backs on him.

He didn't have to wait long to find out what they would do though, returning to the couch with his cup of tea only to hear the door handle jiggle as someone unlocked it from outside..

For a moment he hesitated, looking over his shoulder into the hallway to see if Rei would come to the door, but it looked like he was alone. Sucking in a breath he sighed, putting down his mug and running a hand through his hair as if to make the black strands a little more put together. All it really did was remind him that it was still a slightly damp mess from the shower he had taken a couple hours ago.

The beats of silence as the door swung open seemed to take days, Dabi standing and turning to see who had been the first to enter as a tightness continued to almost suffocate his chest.

Natsuo had brought in a bag of groceries, placing them on the kitchen table. He turned back towards the door, not noticing Dabi yet as Fuyumi also came in behind him, a brown bag in her arms as well. He only caught a second of their conversation, before there was the loud clatter of cans in a bag being dropped to the floor which cut off any conversation. Dabi finally pried his eyes away from the cans rolling out on the floor, glancing upwards to be met with shocked stares from both Fuyumi and Natsuo.

He wasn't sure how much they had been told about the situation, but judging by their shocked reactions they weren't expecting him to be there. He doubted the heroes just up and told them, "Hey, guess what? Your brother who you thought was dead is actually a wanted villain. Oh, and also he gave us a statement about your dad and we're arresting him for multiple counts of child abuse, neglect, and emotional manipulation." Hell, maybe they did, but he doubted they would believe it without seeing it with their own eyes.

Dabi opened his mouth to say something, anything, to break the silence, but he was beaten to it as Fuyumi suddenly broke out of her frozen state to run over to Dabi and wrap her arms around him. As expected, such a reaction caught Dabi completely off guard, and also caused him to hiss slightly as she hugged around his ribs since she was unaware of his injury there.

"Fuck-" Dabi sucked in a breath, trying to ignore the shooting pain that rippled up his side as she squished into him, prying her off with a little effort. "My ribs are-"

"Oh my god, Touya, I'm so sorry! I've just been really worried, and you know I always knew that you were still alive, and I didn't believe them at first, but look! You're really here." Fuyumi quickly rambled as she stepped back a little to give him space, wiping her eye as it was slightly watery. "Look, Natsuo, I told you that it was the truth-"

Dabi almost let out a sigh of relief at her reaction, she did always have that way about her, but unfortunately Natsuo's was not as immediately positive. It was more the sort of reaction that Dabi was expecting, so it didn't really surprise him that much. Natsuo had left the bag on the counter, not moving from where he was in the kitchen, his arms crossed.

"How do we really know, though?" Natsuo questioned, taking a step closer to where they were standing in the living room. "Just because he has a fire quirk and knows about Enji doesn't mean that he's really Touya."

"You think I'd lie about this?" Dabi almost snapped, looking over at his younger brother. If he was recalling right, Rei said that he was one of the people most adamant about punishing Enji for what he did to Touya, and now he was here doubting that horror ever happened to Dabi. "Do I look like I'm having a good time right now?" Really, Dabi did not look like he was having a good time right now, even though he was freshly showered and fed. His hair was slightly disheveled more than normal, there was purple and yellow bruising across his nose, new burns on his neck, and although unnoticeable at the moment he still had the bruised ribs that he was nursing. Maybe he was even holding back a few tears, but he wouldn't make that visible to anyone at this point in time.

Natsuo stared at him for a few more seconds, like he was judging the honesty of his statement, before the sharp look on his face broke and he too came forward to wrap his arms around Dabi. He was careful not to crush Dabi's ribs at all like Fuyumi had accidentally done, although Dabi noticed the firmness of his hug as well.

"I'm so sorry." Natsuo's voice was much quieter, holding Dabi in the hug for the longest five seconds of Dabi's life. Even though he had an ice quirk the hug itself actually felt nice to receive from Natsuo, and Dabi tolerated it longer than he normally would have.

"Nothing to be sorry about, it's my fault anyway." Dabi managed with a little bit of a bitter smile, stepping back as Natsuo pulled away from him. Natsuo looked like he wanted to protest, but Dabi was a little done with the whole "oh it's not your fault" for today because no, it really was his fault, so he interrupted him before he could speak.

"Is Shouto-?" Dabi asked, glancing around the room and still not seeing the youngest of them inside.

"Shouto is outside, grabbing the other bag." Natsuo said with a jab of his thumb towards the door, which was still cracked open from when Natsuo and Fuyumi came inside. Dabi looked at them for a second, before moving to step into the doorframe.

The light from inside shown over Dabi's back, casting a long shadow over his face and down the walk. The sidewalk was dry from the rain earlier, but the grass still reflected little flickers of light from the droplets. Shouto was standing by the trunk of the car, which was pulled into the driveway by the side of the house.

Dabi didn't say anything, simply standing there and waiting to see what Shouto would say or do. He figured it would be more realistic that way, allowing Shouto to approach him first rather than trying to force himself back into the role that he doubted Shouto remembered anyway.

The youngest Todoroki made his way towards the house, stopping a few feet in front of Dabi and looking up at him with a rather blank face. Dabi was sure that he didn't look quite as intimidating as he had back then, now wearing a pair of sweats and nursing several wounds, but he still knew that Shouto probably hardly forgot what Dabi had done.

The understanding though, that came through his eyes. Sharper than Dabi had expected, not in anger but instead in a reflection and acknowledgement of a shared painful past that both of them most likely wanted to put behind them.

"Nasty burn scars you got there." Shouto finally spoke, in reference to the fresh marks around Dabi's neck, which were placed over already scarred skin and colored in a splash of deep red and purple.

"Eh, worth it to put the old man in his place."

The words he spoke rewarded Dabi with the smallest of smiles from Shouto, and that was enough to make all of this worth it. Even though he was left with more scars than before, and an uncertain future which was starting to look more and more like prison eventually, it was worth it. There was no denying that swell of big brother pride, this unseen weight almost lifting off of Dabi's shoulders.

Sure, he technically was still a villain, and would have to deal with that, since he wasn't just going to stop. Plus Toga was still stuck in prison, and Dabi wasn't just going to leave her there. And then there was the whole thing with Hawks, which Dabi wasn't even sure where that was going to go, but he'd worry about that later.


	24. Chapter 24

Hawks squished his wings into his car as he got in, taking one last look at the Todoroki house before driving away.

He could hardly believe what had happened back there, still processing everything. Dabi had finally admitted that he liked Hawks, enough that they had actually kissed. That in and of itself was a miracle, not to mention the fact that Dabi was reconciling with his family and looked to be well taken care of there.

He really had no reason to be so pleased that Dabi was doing well, but there was no denying that it was what Dabi had really needed. He didn't need to be locked away in some cell for the rest of his life, like the heroes wanted him to be. He needed to be able to work through the things that made him take the path of a 'villain' so that he could make better choices in the future.

Sure, he might seem irredeemable, hell, Hawks had thought that for a while himself. But he knew differently now, and wanted Dabi to have the chance to be better.

Hopefully that could happen here, where it should have happened in the first place.

Shifting his attention away from Dabi for a moment Hawks was reminded of his own problems when his phone buzzed again, and a glance at it revealed that the Hero Commission was calling him again. Hawks let out a sigh, swiping to accept the call and bringing the phone to his ear.

"Yeah, hi, if you've called to remind me of my life choices and how you're disappointed in me then save it, I don't want to hear it." He said before the Commission could get a word in first, not really in the mood to deal with whatever they were going to come up with to try and guilt trip him into doing whatever it was they wanted him to do. Honestly, he was starting to care even less than before about the actual hero society and the people who ran it, because all he had been seeing the past few days is how the heroes weren't actually good and that sometimes the villains aren't actually as bad as everyone thinks.

There was a pause on the other side of the line before anyone spoke, and Hawks knew that his response was not the one that they were looking for.

"People want answers, Hawks. The world is without the number 1 or 2 hero, and public trust in the hero society is falling. We need you to straighten out and bring Dabi back so that we can reinstate you before it's too late and you can't come back." Of course they sounded irritated and upset with him, which was slightly reasonable because he had been ghosting them, but their words only served to bristle Hawks' feathers.

"Well, what's so wrong with that?"

Hawks found himself snapping out the response without even thinking, his hand gripping the phone tighter as he glanced both ways before turning his car around the corner. There was a longer pause of silence on the other end again, long enough that the silence made Hawks swallow nervously.

"Hawks, think about what is the right choice here-" The line crackled through again, but Hawks interrupted.

"I am!" He was riled up now, probably for one of the few times in his laid back life.

Over Dabi, no less.

He took a breath in to try and calm down, before continuing in a more even tone. "If you think that helping an abused and misguided individual is wrong and worthy of punishment then I'm sorry, that is not an organization that I want to be a part of."

Silence on the other end at his response was something that Hawks was getting used to, so it didn't bother him as much when the Commission didn't respond right away. They probably didn't know what to say, since Hawks basically had just said that he wanted to quit.

Could he really quit if they were the ones that had took away his hero status in the first place though?

"Are you saying that you're helping him? You're helping a villain. After everything that we have done for you? You would have never become a hero without our help. And you won't ever be one again unless you get back with the program, Hawks." Now they were back to the guilt tripping bullshit again, which would have gotten Hawks back before, but not anymore.

Dabi was changing him. He didn't know if it was for better or for worse, truthfully.

"That's where you're wrong. I am being a hero. I'm saving someone that you wanted me to kill just because he would tarnish the reputation of a hero who, not that I have to remind you, abused _children._ I'm not going to stand by any longer and watch you dig their entire life into the ground for your precious hero." Just thinking about what Endeavor did made Hawks sick to his stomach, much less actually talking about it out loud. He couldn't allow that to happen anymore, and he wasn't going to turn his back on the one person that needed his help more than anyone else.

"Dabi is a villain, Hawks. He's killed people, kidnapped a student of UA, racked up hundreds of acres of property damage, associated with a known criminal organization, and hasn't shown remorse for any of that. He is not worth trying to redeem or whatever you think your little stint is going to do for him." The voice spoke tightly from the other side of the phone, seemingly just as irritated with Hawks behavior as he was with theirs.

How could they say something like that? As if Dabi wasn't worth redeeming. As if Dabi wasn't a human being like everyone else, like he was somehow lower because he had chosen to take out the trauma of his life in this way. Sure, it wasn't the best way to do so and probably just a bad idea in general, but Hawks could see why he would end up being a villain. Maybe he was a little too familiar with the idea, considering the words that left his own mouth after a moment of tense silence.

"Take this as my formal hero resignation then, if that's how you're going to continue to think." 


	25. Chapter 25

Well, this was awkward as fuck.

After Shouto stepped inside the house and began to help his other siblings take care of the dropped cans and groceries Dabi still remained in the doorframe of the house, only turning slightly back towards the light inside.

Dabi knew this was going to be awkward and uncomfortable, which is why he avoided it for so long. Although they had accepted that he was still alive and still somewhat Touya, he doubted that they really approved of what he had been doing and done. Hell, he attacked Shouto and his friends and literally kidnapped one of them, he doubted that Shouto would let that go so easily.

Briefly, remembering that time at the training camp also reminded him of the league, which reminded him of Toga, which reminded him that she was probably still captured because she wasn't casual fuck buddies with someone like Hawks who could just waltz in and take her out.

Of course, he hadn't forgotten about her, he was just preoccupied with a lot of other things at the moment. He would go back to get her. She was basically closer family to him than his actually family at this point, but he had to deal with all of this first before he could even think about helping her. Maybe he could get Hawks to help, he thought he did recall Hawks saying one time that they were going to break her out, unless that was something that Dabi just imagined. He wouldn't doubt it at this point.

"-inside, Touya?" A voice speaking his birth name snapped Dabi back into reality, and he had to blink a couple times before he really recognized Rei's face looking at him in a concerned manner from the kitchen. So the woman had finally appeared, it seemed, just late enough to give Dabi a chance to be seen by his siblings.

They were all standing in the kitchen, looking at him standing in the doorway, and it was almost enough to make him turn on his heel and book it out of there as soon as possible. He still didn't want to deal with this, he still didn't want to have them look at him like that, he still didn't want them to see what he had become without them. He wanted to run away again, to just leave all the raw emotions and strained tension behind in favor of the silence and the loneliness.

As much as he still cared about his siblings, he didn't care about them enough for their reunion to be what forced him to stay.

That was Rei.

"Touya? It's going to rain again soon, you should come inside." Her voice was soothing, silencing the thoughts that were burning beneath the walls of his eyes.

"..Yeah." Dabi finally spoke as he stepped in and closed the door behind himself, the sound of the lock clicking shut the only sound that echoed through the kitchen.

He felt like he was supposed to say something, but he didn't know what. Like there was one specific thing that, if he said it now, would just break all the ice away and allow for them to go back to the way it had been all those years ago, minus the whole Endeavor situation. But it wasn't coming to him. Nothing was. Nothing that he could say would make the situation any better and he knew that this was always how seeing them again was going to go. He should have known, he should have never come back, this was such a stupid idea that only was going to bite him in the ass and-

"Why don't you go get yourself settled; I put your old clothes in your bedroom. I'm sure the rest of us can handle putting away these groceries."

Rei's voice broke through the tensely awkward air, Dabi sucking in a breath finally. He wouldn't say it at this time, but he was eternally grateful for the excuse to ditch without seeming like he didn't want to be around them.

Was he.. hiding behind Rei? Not physically of course, since he was taller than her and held a much more demanding appearance and presence. Emotionally though, he was sort of using her as a buffer between them, because everyone here loved Rei. Everyone here didn't love him the way he was now. At least, that's how he felt. If she negotiated the waters between them, maybe Dabi wouldn't get burned again.

Forcing himself to move Dabi peeled himself from his position by the door, hardly making a sound as he crossed the wood floor and disappeared down the hallway. His old bedroom was all the way down at the end, and it took him far longer than he wanted to get inside and shut the door behind himself.

His breathing was far too ragged, his heart pounding against his bruised rib cage. He backed up against the closed door, sliding to the ground as his fingers grasped for anything that could be cool and grounding. Everything was too hot, his hands pulsing with a stinging pain that always came before they burst into flame- no, he was too hot.

Weirdly, his first concern in this instance is that he was going to singe the floor, not really that he was having a panic attack, digging his fingers into damp hair as the remaining water sizzled. Hyperventilating, he curled into himself, sore muscles protesting the action.

The sound of knocking on the door didn't even catch his ear right away, and he didn't realize the door was being opened on him till the cold air rushed in around his back, shocking out the flames that had started to lick from his fingers.

Someone was standing above him, stepping around him to crouch in front of his feet, Dabi tucking further into himself to hide the salty trails that stung his cheeks and trickled down to the still healing burns on his neck.

God, he was still weak. He was still pathetic. Letting something as simple as the gaze of his siblings send him into a spiral like this.

"Touya." The sound of his name barely registered in Dabi's ears, drowned out by his ragged breathing and the pounding of his heart that seemed to somehow flood over him.

"Touya, you need to breath."

Cool hands were placed on his knees, before slowly finding their way into his hair to gently untangle his fingers from the dark stands. The touch was grounding, Dabi immediately grasping hard onto them with his own hands, not aware that he was probably grabbing way too tightly.

"Just listen to my voice. Focus on me. Breathe in and out. You'll be okay." Her voice was calm and quiet, yet somehow it cut straight through the screaming fire of Dabi's panic, triggering a memory as Dabi sucked in a breath.

Suddenly he was 15 again, curled up in his room and trying to stifle back tears after training with Endeavor caused him to break down. Pain prickled down his arms, almost at a lag because of the already damaged nerve endings, as Rei gently rewrapped the raw skin. She whispered softly to him, wiping the tears from his eyes with her thumb.

'You'll be okay, Touya. No matter what happens, I will love you. You can always come to me.'

"...mom?" Dabi almost choked on the word as it left his mouth, a sob leaking out as Rei's arms were suddenly around him tightly, clinging as tight if not tighter than Touya was to his own mother. She was crying too, he could feel her tears soaking into the fabric of his shirt, but his own were soaking into hers so they were even as far as he was concerned.


	26. Chapter 26

"Take this as my formal hero resignation then, if that's how you're going to continue to think."

The words seemed to echo in the sharp silence that followed them, Hawks moving on autopilot as he parked his car and got out of the vehicle to slam the door closed without even remembering to lock it again. The lack of initial response was deafening, causing a deep seated panic to begin to clench at Hawks' ribcage. The hand gripping his phone was beginning to white knuckle, Hawks' jacket suddenly feeling much too hot for himself as he took the steps up to his apartment and closed the door behind himself.

"Keigo Takami."

The phone speaker crackled to life, Hawks visibly snapping up at the sound of his real name being uttered over the airwaves. Their voice sounded so loud against the quiet apartment, and something about their tone sent a shiver of remembrance through him. Hawks really didn't consider himself a traumatized person, but there was no denying the sudden wave of sharp fear and sudden memory that the voice recalled. It instilled an uncharacteristic panic in him, something that he attempted to swallow down thickly as the line crackled again.

"You are not allowed to resign."

"Like hell I'm not." Hawks snapped back quickly, roughly shrugging off his jacket and letting it drop onto the couch as he stepped further into the apartment, trying to ignore the sensation of claustrophobia it had caused. Or maybe it wasn't the jacket causing the sensation of being trapped, it was the slowly dawning notion that maybe he was stuck in a situation that he could never get out of, no matter what he said, save for going completely off the deep end. "I'm a hero just like anyone else and I can stop being a hero whenever I want-" The Hero Commission cut him off, Hawks' breath halting in his throat.

"No, you cannot. You belong to the Hero Commission. Without us you would have been nothing, a poor child left alone on the streets to starve and die. We took custody over you, trained you to be able to control your quirk, gave you the means to start your own Hero Agency. We made you who you are, Keigo. You wouldn't be able to survive without us." Their sharp voice echoed in Hawks' ear, the definite tell that they were not happy with him. But yet Hawks could sense a feeling of desperation as well, a last attempt to keep him under their finger because he was starting to think for himself now. The tight fear that had been nestled into his chest turned over into burning anger, Hawks sucking in a breath before clenching his teeth to grit out an answer.

"Watch me."

After these two words there was an initial moment of silence, but Hawks continued speaking before the Hero Commission had a chance to get another word out edgewise.

"I'm not going to be your little puppet hero. I'm going to do what I think is right, and I think that Touya Todoroki has every right to be free from the people who are going to abuse him, just like I have the right to be free from you. Don't call me again."

Tearing the phone away from his ear to silence the raised voice that was sure to come, Hawks hung up the call and threw the phone down onto his couch. He flexed his fingers that had been clenched around it open and closed, realizing that he had been stress gripping it during the conversation.

His heart was pounding in his chest and his breath was quick and raged, both uncharacteristic to the man who usually was so calm and chill in the face of any sort of danger. His eyes remained locked on the phone now laying unceremoniously on his couch, as if it was going to erupt with sound and that voice was going to echo in his ears again.

"Oh my god- fuck- what did I just do- what did I just do?! fuck-" Hawks suddenly burst out, sinking his head into his hands as he curled over to bury his face into the top of the couch. What had first started out as elation that he finally spoke his mind was quickly followed by an overwhelming sense of dread, because he had basically told his one and only provider to rightly go fuck themselves and leave him alone.

How was he going to provide for himself now? He had already been revoked of his hero status and was under watch, and now he told the commission that he was basically quitting so that he could help an escaped villain. They would no doubt cut him off from everything he had been using to support himself, labeling him as a villain when all he really was doing was not being the kind of hero that they wanted him to be.

Maybe he was overreacting. Maybe they would sweep it under the rug and pretend that the whole conversation didn't happen, make up some story about how the villains got him and he died. Seemed like the kind of thing they would do, considering the fact that they had covered up Endeavor's treatment of Touya the same way.

Hawks had wanted to be able to find something in his life similar to Dabi so that they could relate to each other, but he had never wanted it to be something like this.


	27. Chapter 27

After clinging to Rei like his lifeline for far longer than he was comfortable admitting, Dabi finally released his grasp on her clothes so that she could separate herself from him. He could feel it in his arms that he was still trembling, trying to bury the sensation down as he kept his gaze pointedly not at the woman who had been hugging him moments prior. How could he look at her now? He had done nothing, absolutely nothing to help her or Natsuo or Fuyumi or Shouto in any way, all he did was ruin himself beyond recognition or hope of redemption.

At least, in his own mind he thought that. Rei certainly had a different idea.

The gentle touch of her cool thumbs on his cheeks caused Dabi to look up, taking in a shaky breath in an attempt to stabilize himself and stop the tears that continued to feel like they would well up in his eyes at any moment. It was painful when they would spill into the stapled cracks under his eyes, already a light prickling spreading over his face that hardly felt more than a brief numb sensation.

Rei was smiling softly at him, a detectable hint of sadness underneath it probably because of his sorry state. She trailed her fingers over his face with an almost invisible touch, wiping away the stray tears before gently brushing into his hair to push it away from his eyes. Deep in his dark locks, the hint of red was just visible at the roots, causing Rei to sigh quietly as she exhaled.

"Oh Touya.." It was probably the only part of him that actually looked like he had before, though the situation that they were in was exactly like 10 years ago. There was no denying that, as much as Dabi didn't want to acknowledge it, he wouldn't be able to erase who he was before the fateful day when he became Dabi for the first time.

As nice as it was to have such a revelation and reunion with his family, Dabi didn't think so highly of the fact that he was currently curled up into a ball on the floor of his old bedroom after having a panic attack. That part really wasn't the worst of it though, it was that he still needed someone else to take care of him in his weakness. For someone who based their entire existence on the fact that they had to be strong in order to not only survive but also be worth something, being vulnerable was not a comfortable position to be in once he had managed to be wrangled down.

It caused a taste of bitterness to grow sharply in his throat, chest constricting with the sudden pressure of contempt towards himself as he pulled his arms back away from Rei and into himself and broke away from her gaze. For every step forward it seemed like Dabi would take two backwards, opening the door to himself a crack before turning around to slam it shut and add more locks once again.

It didn't help that he was literally reliving his past either, once again bruised and burned as he broke down on the floor. It wasn't hard to see how Dabi took that as a sign that he had basically failed, going back to square one and the fact that Rei was the one needing to take care of him and not the other way around.

Rei let Dabi pull away from her hands so as to not force her presence on him, but she did try to reach out to him again. This time Dabi swatted her hand away with his back side of his arm, before curling up further into himself and not allowing her to see his face. Letting out a soft sigh, Rei gave up on trying to reach him currently, knowing that he wouldn't listen to anything that she had to say when he got into a mindset like this. Well, she didn't know that Dabi would react that way, but she knew her son Touya, and this was exactly the behavior she expected of him.

"It's okay that you don't know what to do. I'm not expecting you to be perfect, I'm just glad you're still here." Rei said softly, leaning forward to press a kiss to the top of Dabi's head before standing up. "You don't have to talk to any of them until you're ready." With that, she left his bedroom, quietly shutting the door and leaving Dabi in the silent darkness.

Dabi froze when he felt the kiss be pressed against his unruly hair, only relaxing from the position until after the door had been closed after Rei. He leaned back against the door, letting out a slightly shaky but tight sigh from his lips.

Time for him to get his shit back together, this was just pathetic.

Leaning forward again he pushed himself up from the ground, wiping the back of his hand over his face to get rid of any remaining tears still holding on between his scars and the staples holding them in place. He wanted nothing more than to leave, to just climb out the window of the room and never return again, but something was keeping him grounded here. It might have been Rei or it might have been Hawks, or it might have been both, honestly, but it was enough to make him lay down on the bed instead.

Staring up at the ceiling he squinted his eyes upwards, but all he saw was darkness. All he could hear was the quiet sound of Rei's footsteps retreating down the hallway. He knew he should try and sleep, it was late, and he knew that no one would be pleased if he stayed awake all night, but he was too tightly wound up right now. He barely had a grip on himself.

Eventually he did close his eyes, but his mind was racing. For some reason, his thoughts kept flickering back to Hawks and the soft look that he had given Dabi before leaving. Wasn't the worst thing for him to hyperfixate on, for once, at least it distracted him from the burning itch of his scars wanting to be torn up in punishment for Dabi's weakness.


	28. Chapter 28

After burying his face into the couch and screaming about how he had majorly fucked up into the plush fabric, Hawks felt a little better. Still, he could feel the beginnings of an anxiety attack forming in the lower part of his back, where it liked to nestle between his wings and clench at his breath sometimes. It didn't happen often, since he was basically bred into someone with a laid back personality.

If anyone should be the one having panic attacks it was Dabi, and Hawks was the one supposed to calm him down and offer him badly brewed tea that would make the other crack a teasing smirk and roll his eyes.

Dabi; that Hawks had left at the Todoroki household by himself. No- Dabi was a Todoroki too, so he had to be fine, right? Hawks didn't have any siblings, so he wouldn't know what getting along with them was like, but he hoped that they would at least understand. At the very least, Hawks knew that Rei would try and take care of him, though he didn't know how well that would go over.

He could really go for someone like Rei right now, if he was being completely honest.

Wracking his brain, he legitimately couldn't think of anyone that he could go to. He couldn't go to the Commission now, or anyone involved with them. Even speaking to another Hero about this was probably not a great idea, since he didn't know who would react favorably to the information and who wouldn't. Rumi was a consideration for a moment, but he didn't want to drag her reputation down with his shit either, they weren't that close. He didn't even have any family to talk to, since he hadn't had contact with his mother in over ten years besides seeing a portion of his paycheck get transferred off to her, and honestly didn't even remember her phone number.

The only person that he actually remembered saying anything about being there to help him was Rei. He had called her that one time, to find out where Dabi had run off to after leaving Hawks with that painful phone call, and she had offered to be there for him as well. Most likely this was because she knew that Hawks had feelings for her son Touya, and she knew how much of a mess he was currently.

He could just show up and talk to her, right? If anything, he would get to see Dabi again, even if he did back out of asking for help. It was terrifying to think about exposing that part of himself, especially since he had no idea what was going to happen.

Would the Commission try and roast his ass by exposing his actions to the public? Would they turn a blind eye to everything and cover it up and force Hawks to continue as a Hero? He didn't know which one was worse.

Letting out a tense sigh he finally peeled his thoughts away and found his phone again, checking the time. It was too late for this, he really should be sleeping. Yet, he knew he wouldn't be able to.

Shoving his phone into his pocket he gathered a few spare pairs of clothing and shoved them in a duffel bag along with some other necessities. Hopefully he'd be able to stay with Dabi, because he was pretty sure that he wouldn't be able to sleep at all if he stayed at his apartment. At the very least, he could crash on their couch for the night.

Grabbing his keys and a jacket he picked up the bag before heading out the door, locking his apartment behind him as he left. Would the Commission take that from him too, since he was living there as a part of their deal with him? He didn't know if he could deal with being homeless on top of everything else. That was too much to think about right now.

Squeezing his wings into his car he plopped the duffel bag into the passenger seat, letting out a sigh after closing the door. This was fine. He was going to be fine. He had to be fine. It's not like he couldn't take care of himself without the Commission constantly hovering over him, right? It's not like he was completely controlled ever since he was a child- except that he was.

Well, this pep talk wasn't really helping.

Shaking his head, he put his keys in and started up the car to drive over to the Todoroki's house. Normally he would have flown, but he didn't really feel like losing his already sparse focus and falling out of the sky tonight.

Thankfully he managed to get there fine, without any accidents or the Commission trying to contact him. He was practically waiting for the minute that they would come after him, and he definitely wasn't looking forward to it.

He pulled his car into the driveway, parking behind the one that he didn't recognize as being there before. That must have been Dabi's siblings who were out and now came back. Hawks really hoped everything went okay with that, because he didn't know what would happen if Dabi had another breakdown here.

He left his duffel bag in the car at first, not wanting to make it seem like the reason he came was to crash there. He could always come back out and get it. Steeling himself up for it, he got out of the car and headed up the walk to the door, his wings bristling in order to sort themselves out nicely from the drive. It's not like he had time to preen them, so however they look is gonna have to be fine.

Knocking twice, he then heard the sound of shuffling on the other side before the door was unlocked and swung open.

"Hawks?" Fuyumi was the one to open the door, a look of slight surprise on her face at his unannounced arrival until it seemed to click for her. Of course the Number 2 hero would show up because Dabi was there. "Oh, you've come because of Touya, haven't you? I can, um.." She opened the door further, stepping back to let Hawks inside. Her slight mumbling was cut off by Rei, who appeared around the corner from the kitchen.

"Fuyumi, why don't you take this snack to Shouto and Natsuo, they're trying to study in the back bedroom together." Rei said softly, holding out the bowl for Fuyumi to take and then make her exit.

"Of course." Fuyumi nodded, giving Hawks a somewhat hesitant but genuine smile before she turned to take the snack to her brothers and leave Rei and Hawks in the entry to the kitchen.

"Back so soon?" Rei waited till the bedroom door was closed before speaking, her hands clasp lightly in front her. She was wearing a fairly simple but comfortable outfit, with a soft pale blue cardigan sweater. She looked fragile in a way, but Hawks knew she was anything but that now.

Still, he instantly felt as if he was intruding on a family moment here, and didn't step any further into the house or even take his shoes off yet. With the somewhat noticeable awkward tension in the air, it was clear that the Todoroki's were still working some things out themselves. Hawks didn't see Dabi from where he was standing, so he had to be somewhere else in the house, and the rest of the siblings were camped out in the back bedroom. Possibly to be away from Dabi? Hawks wouldn't blame them, especially Shouto. He hadn't been there, but he knew that Dabi had attacked Shouto and his friends on several occasions. There had to be tension there, even if Rei and Fuyumi were acting as the middle-women.

"Aha, yeah- I just thought that maybe it would be a good idea to check up on you guys. Y'know, make sure that everything went down okay with the reunion." Hawks said with a smile, shrugging slightly as he tried to seem as normal as possible. This was fine, he could just check up on Dabi and make sure that he was okay. He didn't need to put more trouble on the Todorokis.

Yeah.

This was fine. He just had to breathe.

"Thank you, Hawks. We're doing alright." Rei responded with her soft expression, taking a step back to show that he was welcome to come into the house. "Is there something else you need? Would you like to stay with Touya?"

"Ah- no, actually I need to go." Hawks declined politely with a shake of his head, it becoming harder for him to hold the typical smile on his lips. Rei was so nice now, really, and Hawks had to admit that he was a little jealous of Dabi. That was a new sensation for sure. He was also pretty sure that he'd start to crack if he stayed any longer, and Hawks definitely couldn't put that burden on Rei if he broke down.

Hawks was supposed to be the one that was always strong and put together, so that he could be there for Dabi. This was his own problem, and no one else had to deal with it.

Plus, wasn't this what he wanted? He felt trapped, and wanted freedom, but now that he had the freedom he thought he wanted, he wanted to run right back to the people that were trapping him in the first place. The Commission was what was familiar and protective to him, and he wasn't sure what he was going to do without them.

"Are you sure?" She asked again, briefly snapping Hawks out of his thoughts, "You saved my Touya, I would be more than happy to let you stay. It's alright."

"Really, I don't mean to intrude on your family-"

"Hawks." Rei interrupted him, which slightly surprised Hawks. "I don't mean to pry, so forgive my boldness, but I'm not blind."

"I- I don't know what you mean by that." Hawks replied after a few seconds, regretting the way that his voice caught at the beginning of his words. He felt called out, vulnerable, like he wanted to hide behind his wig, but he knew that would not help his case in trying to defend himself and his supposed stable state of mind.

"It took me a long time to admit that I needed help." Rei said, not changing her tone any from the even way that she spoke, but Hawks could feel the concern just lurking behind the words. "I know that look in your eyes. What happened?"


	29. Chapter 29

"I- I can't say. It's confidential. I don't want you to get in trouble." Hawks said, somehow finding words after a moment of silence that felt like it dragged on forever. Rei's soft gaze made him feel exactly just the opposite of that, face involuntarily flushing with hot guilt at being called out.

"Hawks. I'm housing an escaped villain." Rei finally spoke, with a light sigh that only betrayed a slight disappointment in Hawks' reluctance. "He is my son, but that doesn't mean there won't be consequences for it. I am already 'in trouble'." She explained, taking a few steps forward so that she was closer to Hawks.

"Okay but-" Hawks cut himself off with his own breath, "It's complicated." It really was. It wasn't like he could just say 'I've been groomed ever since I was a child to be a soldier and become something I didn't want and now that I've shoved it away I realize that I can't live without them but I'm dying with them and I don't know what to do'. Could he? Maybe? She had been in a mental hospital before though, so maybe she did have a better grasp on it then Hawks originally thought.

"That's alright. I understand." Her voice was calm, and accepting, cutting through the thoughts that had begun to swarm up in Hawks' mind. She didn't press more than it seems she needed to, didn't pry an answer out of Hawks that would have made him even more defensive and unresolved.

Rei held out her arms, implying that Hawks should come over and get a hug. Hawks hardly even knew Rei, so he felt a little awkward getting a hug from her. He'd only really been affectionate with Dabi, but even that was a stretch, since they'd only kissed like once besides the occasional physical touch. Really, that was a whole nother can of worms, since Dabi finally somewhat admitted what he felt. What would that mean for both of their lives? What would that do to Hawks' already very quickly tanking Hero reputation? Would they even be able to be together after this? Hawks was the one doubting now.

He and Rei were actually almost the same height, yet Hawks somehow felt really small in her arms as they gently wrapped around him. Her hands laid in the space between his wings, slowly rubbing little circles into the tense muscles of his back.

Immediately Hawks hugged back, his hands digging into the soft fabric of Rei's blue sweater. His face was buried into the crook of her neck, feeling the inherent coolness of her body type. Somehow it reminded him of Dabi, even though Dabi was usually warm. He took in a shaky breath, most likely trying to keep himself from breaking any further, though Rei wasn't going to allow that.

"Heroes cry when they need to, it's okay."

Rei's words were soft in his ear, and it was the last drop that made Hawks finally overflow. The tears were flowing before he could stop them, Hawks attempting to pull back and hide it from her, but Rei's hand came up into his golden hair to hold his face into the crook of her neck where her soft blue sweater would soak up the tears.

"It's okay, Hawks. You don't need to hide anything from me." Rei offered again, her one hand still slowly rubbing his back. Hawks' fingers were now completely fisted into the fabric of her clothes, but she didn't mention it. quietly holding him as he sobbed into her cardigan.

"Even Touya can't withhold his feelings from me, so it's futile to resist." She continued with a bit of a soft chuckle, which actually caused Hawks to laugh wetly into her shoulder between breaths.

Finally, when he felt like he had cried enough and also substantially embarrassed himself, Hawks pulled back to wipe his tears with his jacket sleeve and break out of her hug. He did have to admit that he felt slightly better now, even though his problem was no less closer to being solved.

"Did you bring anything with you?" Rei asked softly, drawing his attention back to her to notice that she was holding out a tissue for him. Hawks took it with a nod, wiping his eyes and sniffling once.

"Alright, go outside and bring it in, I'll make you some tea. It's too late for you to be out by yourself." She said, finally turning away from him to head back into the kitchen to start the water for the aforementioned tea.

"Mrs. Todoroki, I'm a pro hero." Hawks found his voice to respond now, hopefully confident enough that it wasn't going to sound watery or shaking from his crying. Of course, he didn't have to worry about going out by himself at night, if anything other people should be afraid of running into him at night.

"And?"

Hawks opened his mouth to respond, but there was something in her tone that made it clear she didn't care if he was literally All Might, she'd still insist that he not be out alone at night. So instead he just let out his breath, shaking his head slightly with a half smile. "Nothing. Thank you."

"Of course."

Turning away from Rei, Hawks went back outside to bring back in the duffel bag from the car. Lifting it onto his shoulder he locked the door behind him, before making his way back into the house and closing the door. He kicked off his shoes in the doorway, next to Dabi's boots, which he was surprised that he didn't notice the first time he came in.

"Take a seat in the living room, I'll be right there with the tea." Rei spoke from the kitchen, Hawks making his way in to drop his duffel bag on the ground and then sit down on the couch. He hadn't spent very long here the last time he visited, just talking to Dabi in the kitchen, so he hadn't really had a chance to take in the house itself. It was late now, so the lights were mostly turned down low, the warm glow from the kitchen casting over Hawks as he sat in the living room.

Hawks knew in the back of his mind what Enji had done to the Todoroki family, but he had to admit that he was kind of jealous of what they had now. Rei was really nice, and this place seemed more like a home than his tiny lonely apartment. Still, he shook the thought away, he didn't want to trail down into that train of thought now. Not when they were all going out of their way to accommodate him despite their current issues.

Hawks pulled his legs up onto the couch, shifting a little to put his wings into a more comfortable position on either side of his back. They could use a good two hours of care and preening, but he wasn't feeling up to that right now.

Now that everything emotional had passed, Hawks realized just how drained he felt, and the desire to shrink into his wings and close his eyes was growing stronger by the second. Rei entered to hand him the warm mug of tea as she also sat down on the couch, Hawks accepting it with a quiet thanks mumbled out after a stifled yawn.

Carefully he brought the warm mug to his lips, taking a sip of the freshly made tea. He straight up almost ascended, it tasted so good compared to any tea that he had made before. The warmth did nothing to wake him up though, in fact making him more tired than before. He didn't feel like forcing himself to make conversation right now, since his usual aura of put-together-ness was already thrown out the window with him crying. Thankfully, Rei seemed content to sit in silence with him, sipping her own tea as she read a book by the lamp light.

"Where, uh, where would you like me to stay tonight?" Hawks finally asked after a couple more sips of tea, looking over at Rei as she placed a bookmark between two pages in order to set her book down.

"Touya's in his room, if you'd like to stay with him."

"I- yeah. I would." Maybe being with Dabi would help Hawks to remember what he really stood for, and that it was worth it to give up everything that he had in order to help him. Rei nodded with a pleased smile, standing up to show Hawks to the closed bedroom door. Hawks stood up to follow her, picking up his duffel bag again to sling it on his shoulder.

"I'll be just down the hall if either of you need anything." She said, only waiting for a half nod and smile from Hawks before he turned his attention to the door of Dabi's- no, Touya's room.

Opening the door quietly, Hawks peered through the crack to see if Dabi was awake or not. The lights were off, so he assumed that he was sleeping, but Dabi also seemed like the kind of guy to just sit in the dark when he was awake.

Seeing his form on the bed, and judging by the quiet breathing that his feathers could pick up, Hawks gathered that Dabi was in fact sleeping. Good, the guy certainly needed it.

Expertly quiet, Hawks pulled the door open more so that he could fit through with his wings, before closing it behind himself and sending the two into darkness again without the light from the hall. Thankfully, Hawks' enhanced eyesight didn't take long to adjust, his golden eyes settling on Dabi's form in the bed.

If he had any suspicions about how well Dabi normally didn't sleep, they were proven by how he was curled up while sleeping.

Dabi was laying on top of the sheets, body tightened up into the fetal position with his back pressed against the wall. His face was hidden by his arms, his fingers half dug into his own dark hair. It didn't look like he fell asleep that way, but instead shrunk into himself while he was sleeping.

Hawks tried not to have too much pity for his.. acquaintance? friend? boyfriend? but it was hard not too when he looked almost terrified and hid in his sleep.

Letting out a breath that he didn't realize he was holding, Hawks stepped towards the bed. He first placed his duffel bag on the floor quietly and set the mug of tea on the dresser top, before shrugging off his jacket and laying that on top of the duffel. He wouldn't be able to squeeze between Dabi and the wall in order to spoon him, so instead he carefully laid down facing Dabi. It was a little uncomfortable for his one wing, but he'd deal with it in order to be in bed with Dabi. They'd only done this once before when they were at Hawks' apartment, and Hawks took a similar position to that time, scooting closer to Dabi and laying one wing over him.

He also reached out a hand to touch Dabi's shoulder, not meaning to wake him but hoping to gently move the other into a less curled position so that Hawks could get his arm all the way over Dabi to rub his back and try to help him relax. However, he didn't get that far, since touching Dabi immediately resulted in the scarred male snapping his eyes open and pushing back at Hawks. It seemed to definitely be an involuntary action though, as even though he moved Hawks was pretty sure he wasn't awake enough to actually process what was happening.

"Hey, Dabi, it's just me. You're okay." Hawks spoke quietly, gently grasping Dabi's wrist to stop the other from pushing against him and forcing him out of the twin sized bed.

"..Hawks?" Dabi's reply was slightly groggy, but he stopped pushing against Hawks, and seemed to blink a few times to wake himself up more, which was the opposite of what Hawks wanted to happen here.

"Yeah. I'm sorry I woke you. You can go back to sleep." Hawks suggested as he let go of Dabi's wrist, letting the other shift slightly in the little space that he had against the wall and under Hawks' wing.

"What are you doing here?" Dabi's brow slightly furrowed, and Hawks resisted the urge to sigh at him. Sure, Hawks himself wasn't even planning on coming back tonight, but couldn't Dabi have just rolled over and gone back to sleep instead of questioning it?

"Don't ask right now. I'll tell you later." Hawks answered tiredly, not meaning to be so short with Dabi, but he really didn't want to think about it any more than he had to tonight. He brought his gaze away from Dabi's face, but when he finally forced them back it actually looked like Dabi's expression was one of concern.

"..Okay." The look didn't last long though, once Hawks met his eyes Dabi's expression returned to being blank. He let Hawks keep his secrets for now which Hawks was grateful for, and he made sure that Dabi knew that.

"Thanks."

Dabi just made a sort of noise in acknowledgement, which Hawks took to be some kind of his own acceptance and thanks. At least, it wasn't Dabi pushing him away again, because instead of curling into his former ball Dabi stretched out straighter, so that Hawks could put his head in the crook of Dabi's neck and shoulder and soak in the warmth from his chest. Hawks immediately wrapped his arm around Dabi, a smile spreading across his lips as he felt Dabi's arm rest over his own body a few moments later.

Though he was extremely exhausted and wanted nothing more than to forget everything that had happened in the past few hours, Hawks couldn't deny that the fact that Dabi was willingly cuddling with him made up for at least some of it. It made him feel like everything he had done was actually worth it, and that he made the right choice, even if it was slow going to get Dabi to open up to him.

It was this comfort that managed to finally get Hawks to close his eyes and fall asleep, even in the slightly uncomfortable position on the small bed with Dabi.


End file.
